Remember your old admin bar (displayed at the top of your screen while you’re logged in to WordPress.com)? Up until today, it’s looked something like this while viewing an individual post:
But we wanted to make it easier for your visitors to interact with you via Likes and Follows, so we’ve cleaned it up a bit. Now it looks like this:
Better, right!? Now on the right hand side of the admin bar where your Gravatar is displayed, you have easy access to your user profile, all the blogs you can contribute to, and all the comments you’ve made across WordPress.com:
In the blog menu on the left side of the admin bar, you’ll see all the stuff related to the blog you’re currently viewing. If you’re looking at a post on your own blog, the menu will display links to your dashboard, post editor, comment moderation panel, custom menus, and widgets. Next to the blog menu are the Follow and Like buttons, along with a sparkline, which reflects the last 48 hours of page views on the blog:
When viewing posts on other blogs on WordPress.com, the blog menu on the left side of the admin bar will display the following options, as well as the shortlink and theme information:
If you hover over the WordPress.com logo in the left corner, you’ll see the following quick links:
Lastly, you may have noticed that you’re no longer able to reblog a post after clicking the Like button. Don’t worry — we’re cooking up some reblogging improvements that you’ll have access to very soon. Stay tuned!
WordPress.com News 
It looks nice (the organization in the menu bar), but I think everything should be on one side or the other. It’s weird going to one side for my stuff and the other side to go read blogs
I agree with some of the others that like the old way better. At least give us a choice by putting a button or something in to choose which way. Now I have to search all over just to post something new…and for some reason drop down roll-overs never agree with me. They always disappear before I can chose what I want… sigh
I saw this, and I was like, wha?
Where did the quick link go for the stats page? I liked it way better with a link to the stats.
It threw me off at first. I thought Fire Fox had messed up and I was missing some plugin. After I got the hang of it, though, I dig it.
I think switching between blogs is not easy. After a week I might get used to it but they are located in the wrong corner.
I suppose it would have been helpful if I’d read this. When I first noticed the new style bar and saw the update notice, I got frustrated that I no longer had access to the full dashboard and links for each individual blog that I have. I thought it’d been whittled down to only whatever blog I was working on at a time.
Duh, it’s on the right now instead of the left. That said, I think I like the new layout better now that I know where stuff’s at. 🙂
Cannot for the life of me see the point in changing the dashboard, so it´s easier for my followers to interact. The dashboard is my toolbox, not the followers. It is now three clicks, instead of just one, to add a new post. And seeing this is about blogging, adding a post is something we do quite a lot…
I don’t think the changes simplified anything, but made WordPress more cumbersome. Now we have to do three clicks when one was enough with the old Admin Bar. Readers don’t need to see our Admin Bar at all. That should only be visible to the owner of the blog(s). I like the idea of readers seeing a bar at the top with “Follow,” “Like,” and “Shortlink” to increase referrals on Twitter, etc. Please try again. Thanks for your effort and consideration.
You’re doing a great job innovating and re-inventing the toolbar. I have a suggestion, which is more of a request: the instructions that you mail/ blog are a wee-bit confusing. It would be a tremendous help if your instructions come across in a less technical (manual-like), and more reader-friendly format.
Let me say this again: great going!!
Nice, looks good, well done
Hi,
Like to ask if the reblog function is still available? Because when I like a certain post, the “like” no longer gives me the option to reblog?
Cheers
Am I the only one missed a simple one-click method to get to my draft posts? — the button went away a couple redesigns ago. Was hoping for a return. Ah, well. Maybe next time? 🙂
For a moment there, I was confused. But is it better? Definitely.
I’m waiting for the new reblog…
Hmm, I’m not much fussed either way, but do be aware that if they’re too long, drop-down menus can sometimes cause problems on very small netbook screens.
What I would like is a direct link to drafts from the menu so that it’s not a 3 step process (dashboard-drafts-the draft-you-want).
While many are automatically resistent to change, I have to say the prior WordPress template was not only working just fine but it was much, much easier to comprehend, navigate and manage. It is discouraging to see major changes happening here without taking the temperature of the users or even a heads-up. This is too much like other services and applications currently disregarding the courtesy of surveying users and/or notifying them well ahead of time something quite major is about to take place. I have given the “new look” of WordPress a few days to sink in and see if my feelings changed…but at the end of the day I would vote strongly to have the “old WordPress back.” This current configuration is not an improvement IMHO.
Like it, BUT please can we have the ‘Read Blog’ function back? It was so useful to check that edits had done what you wanted them to do.
interesting admin bar………… 🙂
I like the minimalistic look.
Looks nice etc etc granted, but sorry, I’m hating the split bar, especially having had blog management moved to the right-hand side…
It makes me easier to explore the content of my dashboard,
Thank you 🙂
I liked having the edit button there so that if you had to edit the post when viewing it, you just had to click that one button. Don’t like the new toolbar at all.
Sorry, have to be in the minority. I prefer the previous incarnation. Change is not always good. Also, the change wiped out my icon. I guess can’t complain too much, it’s free.
I would love to say that the new bar is better, but I am having difficulty blogging from my mobile, which I do sometimes. Also, I notice that when I try to see my dashboard there are times when I can’t see all of the options I normally have. This may be just a glitch, hopefully it will be back to normal soon. As for the new bar, I will just have to struggle along with it!
I don`t like it either.
Wow. I like it. It automatically works on my blog.
I love the easier access to widgets!
I personally like the new admin bar – Well done!
Not a fan but looks nice.
My admin bar no longer shows when I go to the wordpress home page.I believe that my phone has dropped it how can I get it to come back.
We don’t show the admin bar for mobile devices because it doesn’t work well.
I’m in the Don’t Like It camp. PLEASE put “My Blogs” back in the top bar – I hate that I now have to go through two drop down menus to switch between my two blogs’ dashboards, stats, etc. And making new posts is equally a pain now.
The tool bar is good, but you have removed the much needed Edit button! (although it is there in your post I don’t have it… ) The widgets button is great too.
You can find Edit in the blog menu on the left.
Took a little while to get used to but definitely less cluttered 🙂
It looks really nice… especially with the default font I set in my browser (Google Chrome). If you can’t read any of the text, try changing your default font to something more readable. My default fonts are Segoe UI Light and System. It just looks good on WordPress. 🙂
Maybe I’m just like a monkey on a comp, but I’m continuously frustrated by how a slight slip of the mouse out of the dropdown boundary causes the dropdown to vanish. How about making the dropdowns from the new admin bar stay onscreen until one clicks outside? Just a thought after a couple of weeks of using this new feature…
But on the whole, real neat and uncluttered.
Two thumbs up for this one!
Why did you take out the Edit function from the left drop down?
Edit was moved to the Blog menu on the left side and will show up when you are viewing a post or page you have access to edit.
The new admin bar shows who I AM following, but how do I know who is following ME?
When viewing your stats you can click on the link the the Subscribers section.
I feel that all users should have been sent an email about this, because there were so many posts asking about it.
Also i did a post explaining to people what to do.
Anyone who is subscribed to this blog and wants updates can get an email. 🙂
Hi. It definitely looks cleaner, but now I can’t find a way to easily search for a particular post without going into the dashboard. Am I missing something? thanks!
Click on the search icon (magnifying glass) on the right side of the admin bar.
It’s nice. Now can you show me how to get Internet Explorer 9 to stop using the “compatability view” of my blog?
I love simplicity! Its awesome!! 😉
No, the edit function is no longer in any of the drop down menus (look to the left, where it used to be). It was removed two days ago.
It will only show up when viewing a post or page you can edit.
Where is the wordpress.com search window? I can only find a search window for my blog in the new admin bar.
That’s a great change and I love it! Thanks 🙂
A very efficient and effect update…thank you.
Well, on September 26, 2011 I was not just overjoyed or anything at the change in the button thingies, but now on October 6, 2011, I have gotten used to it and it is easy to use with the little Gravatar thingy on the left of the bar. So, now that I am used to this, and like it, don’t change it back. OK??? Because one thing that doesn’t happen anymore, is that I accidentally end up on the wrong one of my blogs trying to get to something like used to happen. So, this change worked out for the better.