The theme dashboard

JKD Toolkit 4 min read

Every jkdevstudio theme adds one page to the WordPress admin, carrying the theme's tools. It sits in the sidebar under the theme name, and everything the theme manages lives there rather than being scattered across WordPress.

#What is on it

The set of sub-pages depends on the theme, the extensions installed and how the site is configured, so your list may be shorter or longer than somebody else's. Common ones:

Dashboard

The landing screen. Status, notices and quick links to whatever needs attention.

License

Activation status, the domain in use, and the activate and deactivate actions.

Demo Import

Available demos, and the mode for importing individual pages.

Fonts Library

The fonts available to the theme, and where custom ones are added.

Integrations

Which integrations are installed, active or have updates waiting.

Version Control

Updates and rollbacks for the theme and the Pro plugin. It belongs to a direct licence: a marketplace purchase carries the Regular tier and does not have this screen.

Tools

Settings export and import, diagnostics, and the child theme generator.

System Info

A snapshot of the environment, with a copy button.

Preferences

Housekeeping options, including the irreversible Reset Data button.

#Why some of it is locked

Parts of the panel can be closed off when the Pro plugin is not installed or the license is not active. A locked tab is a gate on that feature, not a fault in the panel.

The panel itself is not a Pro feature. It appears on the free edition as soon as the companion plugin is installed, with the pages that edition supports.

If a page you expected is missing, System Info answers why faster than anything else.

It shows whether the theme, the companion plugin and the Pro plugin are each installed and active, which covers almost every version of that question.

System Info and DiagnosticsTwo tools answer the question "what state is this site in right now" without visiting your hosting panel, running phpinfo or opening files. Most support tickets close faster when the reports...JKD Toolkit

#Why it is a single page

It is worth knowing that this panel is a single page application running inside WordPress, because it explains two things you will notice.

Navigating between its tabs does not reload the browser page, which is why it feels faster than the rest of the admin. And it deliberately follows the WordPress visual language rather than inventing its own, so it stays legible next to the screens around it.

The practical consequence: if the panel does not load at all, the usual cause is the REST API being blocked, since the panel reads and writes through it. A security plugin that closes the REST API takes the panel with it.

#Common questions

The theme menu is missing from the sidebar

On the free edition, install and activate the companion plugin, and on Pro check that the theme itself is activated rather than merely installed.

Why do I have fewer pages than the documentation shows?

The page list depends on your edition, your licence and which modules the theme includes, while the documentation describes the widest case.

I have no Version Control page

That screen belongs to a direct licence, so a theme bought on a marketplace does not get it, and versions are downloaded from your account and installed as a zip instead.

The panel loads blank or spins forever

Almost always the REST API, so deactivate security plugins one at a time and reload, and a browser console error mentioning rest_forbidden confirms it outright.

Can I hide the panel from clients?

The white label tool renames what the client sees, and WordPress roles control who can reach it at all, since an editor never sees it.

One page will not open while the rest do

Reload once and clear any object cache, then open System Info, which works independently of most of the panel and reports what state each component is in.

#Still stuck

Open a support ticket with which page fails and any error in the browser console.

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