While widgets are primarily used by website administrators to easily add content to their front-facing websites, WordPress contains another type of widget that plugin developers can use to enhance user experience. Dashboard plugins are sections that appear on the front page of a website's administration area. These sections can offer any kind of functionality, from simple information displays indicating how much data is stored in a plugin to forms that allow website administrators to quickly perform configuration tasks.
This recipe shows how to add a new dashboard widget that indicates how many book reviews are stored in the system, along with links to quickly access them.
