Tour of the admin screens
SLB adds one menu to WordPress, called SLB Editor. It leads to three places: the full-screen editor, Settings and Developer Mode. This page describes each in words.
The SLB Editor menu
| Menu item | Who sees it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone who can edit pages | Opens the full-screen page editor. | |
| Administrators | Saved page copies, Developer Mode, MCP connection. | |
| Administrators | Draft themes, validation, preview and publishing. |
Elsewhere in WordPress, SLB adds an Edit with SLB link in the list and a large Edit with SLB button on the page edit screen. These only show for pages that already have SLB sections. On the website itself, logged-in editors also see Edit with SLB in the top admin bar on SLB pages.
When you click , SLB shows a small chooser asking whether to use the SLB editor or the standard WordPress editor. Your choice is remembered in your browser.
The Settings page
Open . It has these sections, top to bottom.
Get started
A four-item checklist (plugin active, SLB-compatible theme, Developer Mode on, MCP password created) with a one-click Install starter theme button. See Installing SLB.
Keep pages readable without SLB
One checkbox: Save a static copy of each published page. When on, publishing a page also saves its finished HTML into the normal page content. The benefits are that the page still shows (without SLB styling, carts, checkout or product lists) if SLB is deactivated, and WordPress search can find the page text. Off by default. It applies the next time a page is published, so republish important pages after turning it on.
Developer Mode
A checkbox, Enable Developer Mode, with a Save button. Off by default. If your hosting team set SLB_DEV_MODE in wp-config.php, the checkbox is replaced by a note saying the setting is locked and showing its current value. See Developer Mode.
MCP Connection
A button, Generate MCP credential (or Regenerate if one exists). After you click it, the page shows a ready-to-copy .env text block and a claude mcp add command, once. See Connecting the MCP. If this section says Application Passwords are unavailable, your site needs WordPress 5.6 or newer over HTTPS.
MCP Bypass (advanced, usually unused)
This section is almost always showing "Not available on this site". It only becomes usable if your hosting team adds a special line to wp-config.php. When armed, it lets Claude publish and roll back without a browser login and gives that one account full WordPress file and plugin access. It switches itself off after 4 hours idle or 24 hours. Treat it as a developer tool. Most users should never arm it. A banner appears on every admin screen while it is armed, with a Revoke now link.
The SLB editor screen
The editor takes over the whole browser window (no WordPress menu). It has a top bar, a left panel and a right preview.
Top bar
- Back arrow. Returns to WordPress.
- Sections / Page Settings / Global Settings. The three tabs of the left panel.
- Page picker. A drop-down to jump to another page that has SLB sections.
- Mobile / Tablet / Desktop. Three small device icons that resize the preview (375px, 768px, full width). This only changes what you see.
- Undo and Redo (also Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y). Remember the last 20 steps.
- Preview Link. Makes a link you can send to a client. It works for 7 days and needs no login. The link is copied to your clipboard.
- Preview. Opens the page in a new tab as visitors will see it.
- Discard. Throws away unsaved changes, back to the last saved or published state.
- Publish Changes. Makes your saved work live.
Left panel
- Sections. The list of sections on this page, plus + Add Section.
- Page Settings. Show or hide the header and footer on this page, and start an A/B test.
- Global Settings. Custom CSS and the global regions (header, footer, Theme Settings and others).
- Save button and a small status that says Autosaved after your changes are stored automatically.
The full walk-through is on Editing pages.
The Developer Mode page
Open . It has four tabs: Overview, Pages, Sections and Preview / Publish. The buttons you will use are Create Draft From Live Theme, Run Validation, Generate Site Preview Link, Publish Draft Theme and Rollback to Previous Theme. This page matters only if you work with Claude. See Developer Mode.
Tip. If a page seems to load slowly or shows "Loading...", it is fetching your draft theme details. Wait a few seconds. If it stays blank, see Troubleshooting.