Hi Nick, Your looks different because you might have customized the styles.
And what’s the difference between places and listings?
Listings is the common word for GD related post types.
Places is the default post type
You can have listings like Properties, Jobs etc
Secondly, I just created a test account, as I did for the last example, and there’s no way I can access the user dashboard!
Can you explain which page you are talking about when you mean User dashboard? Are you talking about the backend?
Shouldn’t the login the user to the dashboard, where they view their favorites and listings?
No.
GD has a Dashboard widget. User need to select in the dropdown to redirect listings, reviews or favorites. Please take a look at the widget.
PS: We have a addon called UsersWP. Its in Beta right now. You might wanna try that. Its lightweight buddypress alternative. It has profile and account pages for user.
https://wpgeodirectory.com/support/topic/userswp-beta-gd-integration-uwp-recaptcha/