Description
FeatherDash turns wp-admin into a clean, modern, branded workspace — in minutes, on every site.
Built by an agency for client handover: fewer menus, no clutter, a login screen with your logo, and an admin that feels fast.
Out of the box FeatherDash only changes the look: the admin theme, your accent colour and a tidier toolbar. Everything else — clean-up, front-end and security options — stays as WordPress has it until you switch it on.
A modern admin theme
- Dark frame with a rounded content card, the Inter font and your accent colour
- Accordion submenus (or hover flyouts)
- Pages load on hover and fade in — the admin feels instant
- A proper mobile drawer on phones
- A layer on top of WordPress’ own styles: the block editor and plugins keep working
Show only what matters
- Choose which WordPress toolbar items are visible
- Choose which core dashboard widgets show, and add a welcome widget for clients
- Hide Help tabs, Screen Options and update notices for non-administrators
- Turn off Appearance screens you don’t use (Themes, Customizer, Widgets, Patterns…)
- Turn comments or blog posts off site-wide
- Last login and registration date columns on the Users screen
- “Saved” messages as pop-ups
Ready for handover
- Branded login screen: logo and colours
- Maintenance mode with a proper 503 page, preview and editor bypass
- Favicon (Site Icon) from the settings
- GA4 tag with Google Consent Mode, Search Console verification and the Meta Pixel
Faster, leaner front end
- Remove emoji scripts, feed links, generator and other head tags, version strings
- Control jQuery and jQuery Migrate
Security basics
- Turn off XML-RPC, hide REST users from visitors, block ?author= scans
Set it up once
- Export and import all settings as JSON (copy, paste or file)
FeatherDash Pro
Everything agencies need on top: a 4-level drag-and-drop menu builder, Modern and Light themes with a per-user theme switch, hide toolbar items, dashboard widgets and admin notices added by plugins, post type columns (order, hide, sort, add featured image, ID, slug or ACF fields), a GA4 dashboard widget with live visitors, a client request widget (email and Slack), white label, login background image and message, and Open Graph / X cards with a per-page editor. Learn more
Source code and build
The files in dist/ are built with Vite from the human-readable source that ships with the plugin:
assets/scripts/— JavaScript source (vanilla ES modules):admin.jsdist/admin.js,settings.jsdist/settings.jsassets/styles/— CSS source (plain CSS):admin.cssand the partials inassets/styles/admin/dist/admin.css;editor.css,login.css,maintenance.css,settings.css,tinymce.cssthe files of the same name indist/dist/chunks/sortable.esm.js— SortableJS (MIT), from npmsortablejsdist/fonts/— the Inter variable font (SIL OFL 1.1), from npm@fontsource-variable/inter
To rebuild: install Node.js, run npm install, then npm run build (configured in package.json and vite.config.js). npm run dev rebuilds on every change.
External services
FeatherDash connects to these services only in the cases listed.
Freemius
Handles the optional usage statistics and the upgrade to Pro. With your opt-in (asked once after activation, and you can skip it), it sends your site URL, WordPress, PHP and plugin versions and the admin’s name and email to Freemius. Nothing is sent if you skip. Terms · Privacy policy
Google tag (gtag.js)
When you enter a GA4 Measurement ID (Settings FeatherDash Analytics), visitors’ browsers load the Google tag from googletagmanager.com and send page views to Google Analytics, with Consent Mode defaults set to “denied” until the visitor agrees. Terms · Privacy policy
Meta Pixel
When you enter a Pixel ID, visitors’ browsers load the Pixel from connect.facebook.net and send page views to Meta (browsers without JavaScript load a tracking image from www.facebook.com/tr instead); with “Wait for cookie consent” on, only after the visitor allows marketing cookies. Terms · Privacy policy
The Search Console verification code is only a meta tag on your home page; FeatherDash doesn’t contact Google for it.
Screenshots
Installation
- Plugins Add New search “FeatherDash” Install Activate.
- Open Settings FeatherDash and go through the tabs.
- Optional: Tools Export to JSON, then import the file on your next site.
With Composer (Bedrock): composer require wp-plugin/featherdash. See the documentation.
FAQ
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What changes when I activate it?
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Only the look: the admin theme, the accent colour and a tidier toolbar. Clean-up, front-end and security options stay off until you choose them in Settings FeatherDash.
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Will it break my admin or the block editor?
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No. FeatherDash never removes WordPress’ own stylesheets; it adds a layer on top. The block editor only picks up your accent colour. Turn the theme off at any time and every other setting keeps working.
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Does it work with WooCommerce, Yoast, ACF, Gravity Forms…?
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Yes — FeatherDash was checked page by page with 40+ popular plugins, on desktop and mobile. See the compatibility list in the documentation.
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Does it contact external servers?
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Only for features you switch on, and Freemius only if you opt in. See “External services” below.
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Does it change the front end of my site?
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Only the optional head clean-up, feed redirects, jQuery, security options (the
?author=redirect, hiding the REST users endpoint from visitors), maintenance mode, favicon and tracking tags — each with its own setting. -
What happens to my settings if I deactivate it?
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They stay in the database until you uninstall the plugin; uninstalling removes them.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“FeatherDash” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “FeatherDash” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.1.0
- Free and Pro editions. The free plugin only changes the look until you choose other settings.
- Welcome widget for clients, “saved” messages as pop-ups, row actions menu, Appearance screen toggles, Meta Pixel, Search Console verification, favicon, About tab.
- WooCommerce screens follow the admin theme; wide list tables scroll sideways.
- Full list: https://featherdash.io/docs/changelog/
1.0.0
- Rewrite: database-only settings, admin theme as a layer on top of core styles, plain CSS and vanilla ES modules.