A Tour of the EmDash Dashboard: Every Menu Explained

If you’ve used WordPress, the EmDash dashboard will feel familiar within a minute. If you haven’t, this tour explains every item in the menu. We took these screenshots on EmDash 1.4 on November 8, 2026, using the blog template with its sample content.

The dashboard home

Go to /_emdash/admin on your site. You land here:

At a glance it shows how many drafts you have, how many images, and how many users. Recent Activity lists what changed last. The three buttons at the top, Page, Post and Upload Media, are shortcuts for the things you’ll do most.

The menu, item by item

The menu down the left side is grouped into three parts.

Content: the things you write

Menu item	What it’s for
Dashboard	The home screen above.
Calendar	A calendar view of your content.
Pages	Pages that don’t change much, like About or Contact.
Posts	Your blog posts or articles. How to write one.
Media	Every image and file you’ve uploaded.

Manage: how your site is put together

Menu item	What it’s for
Comments	Read, approve and delete comments from visitors.
Menus	The links in your site’s header and footer. Change them here, not in code.
Redirects	Send an old address to a new one, so old links keep working. In WordPress this is usually a plugin.
Widgets	Small boxes in the sidebar, like search or a list of categories.
Sections	Ready-made chunks, like a call to action or a standard notice, that you can drop into any post or page.
Categories	The big groups your posts belong to.
Tags	Smaller labels for posts. A post has one or two categories and any number of tags.
Bylines	The author names shown on posts. A byline doesn’t have to be a person with an account.

Admin: the settings behind it all

Menu item	What it’s for
Content Types	The kinds of content your site has, like Posts and Pages, and the fields each one has. Add a new type, like Recipes or Events, here.
Byline Schema	Extra fields for bylines, the author details shown on posts.
Users	Invite people to help, and choose what each one can do.
Plugins	Add-ons. A new site has none. Plugins explained.
Import	Bring posts and pages across from WordPress.
Settings	Your site’s title, tagline, logo, SEO defaults and more.

Importing from WordPress

The Import item opens a three-step wizard: connect, review, import.

There are three ways in: install the EmDash Exporter plugin on WordPress and paste the key it makes, type your WordPress address, or upload the export file WordPress gives you under Tools, Export. We opened this screen but haven’t run a full import yet. Our WordPress move guide covers the steps.

On your live site

When you’re signed in and visit your site, a small dark bar sits at the bottom of the page with an Edit mode switch. Only signed-in users see it. Visitors never do.

The top bar of the dashboard has three useful things too: View Site opens your site, the sun icon switches the dashboard between light and dark, and your name opens your account.

Where to go next

• Write your first post, step by step.
• EmDash plugins explained, and why you need fewer than in WordPress.
• EmDash vs WordPress, the full comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the EmDash dashboard?

Add /_emdash/admin to the end of your site's address. On your own computer, that's localhost:4321/_emdash/admin.

Is EmDash's dashboard like WordPress?

Very. It has Posts, Pages, Media, Menus, Widgets, Comments, Categories, Tags, Users and Plugins, in a menu down the left side. If you've used WordPress, you'll find your way around in minutes.

Who can see the dashboard?

Only people with an account on your site. You sign in with a passkey, which is your fingerprint, face or device PIN.