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The "Publish" Metabox
Most of what you see in the back-end of WordPress will be contained in what are known as Metaboxes. Metaboxes in WordPress:
- Provide functionality to each screen in the backend
- Organize information and functionality into logical groupings
- Ensure that back end content maintains a consistent look and feel
- Allow for customization of the back end layout
Provide functionality to each screen in the backend
We’ve already discussed the navigation in WordPress. Almost everything else you’ll find in the back-end is contained within a metabox. Whether you’re categorizing a post, or even submitting it for publication, you’re interacting with controls contained wtihin a metabox.
Organize information and functionality into logical groupings
“Metabox” quite literally is a compound word, comprised of “Meta” (a Greek word that has several meanings, typically translated to “beyond” when used in technological jargon), and “box”. It is the box itself that when drawn around a group of fields/labels/controls/buttons helps to organize these items into their logical parts.
Ensure that back end content maintains a consistent look and feel
Since instructions on how to create a Metabox are contained right within WordPress’ core API, it helps to ensure that users of WordPress will always get a consistent look and feel from all of the metaboxes in the back end. Even if they’re custom metaboxes (provided that the developer took advantage of the API).
Allow for customization of the back end layout
Since “Meta” is an important part of a Metabox, it’s only fitting that these boxes go beyond that of just acting as an organizational unit. Not only do they contain items, but they can be shrunken down to a more manageable size (hiding all of their contents), and even rearranged on the screen. Near the top of every screen in WordPress’ backend, you’ll notice a pull-down button labelled “Screen Options”. When clicking on this, it will typically allow you to adjust how many columns (of metaboxes) are to be displayed on the current screen. It will also let you toggle which Metaboxes are going to be displayed. So, if shrinking down a Metabox (by clicking on its title bar) isn’t sufficient for you, you can hide the metabox in its entirety from the screen. Beyond shrinking and hiding metaboxes though, you can also rearrange the metaboxes on the screen by clicking and dragging the title bar of any metabox to a different location.
