diff --git a/src/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded.csproj b/src/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded.csproj
index 9107c0f9d4..0ed95c3283 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded.csproj
+++ b/src/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded/Umbraco.ModelsBuilder.Embedded.csproj
@@ -109,6 +109,10 @@
       <Project>{3ae7bf57-966b-45a5-910a-954d7c554441}</Project>
       <Name>Umbraco.Infrastructure</Name>
     </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\Umbraco.Web.BackOffice\Umbraco.Web.BackOffice.csproj">
+      <Project>{9b95eef7-63fe-4432-8c63-166be9c1a929}</Project>
+      <Name>Umbraco.Web.BackOffice</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
     <ProjectReference Include="..\Umbraco.Web\Umbraco.Web.csproj">
       <Project>{651e1350-91b6-44b7-bd60-7207006d7003}</Project>
       <Name>Umbraco.Web</Name>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Compose/BackOfficeComponent.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Compose/BackOfficeComponent.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..53dd8c2327
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Compose/BackOfficeComponent.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+using Umbraco.Core.Composing;
+
+namespace Umbraco.Web.Runtime
+{
+    public sealed class BackOfficeComponent : IComponent
+    {
+        public BackOfficeComponent()
+        {
+
+        }
+
+        public void Initialize()
+        {
+
+        }
+
+        public void Terminate()
+        {
+
+        }
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Compose/BackOfficeComposer.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Compose/BackOfficeComposer.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5ccb96ea71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Compose/BackOfficeComposer.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+using Umbraco.Core;
+using Umbraco.Core.Composing;
+using Umbraco.Core.Dashboards;
+using Umbraco.Core.Runtime;
+using Umbraco.Web.Services;
+
+namespace Umbraco.Web.Runtime
+{
+    // web's initial composer composes after core's, and before all core composers
+    [ComposeAfter(typeof(CoreInitialComposer))]
+    [ComposeBefore(typeof(ICoreComposer))]
+    public sealed class BackOfficeComposer : ComponentComposer<BackOfficeComponent>
+    {
+        public override void Compose(Composition composition)
+        {
+            base.Compose(composition);
+
+            composition.RegisterUnique<IDashboardService, DashboardService>();
+
+            // register core CMS dashboards and 3rd party types - will be ordered by weight attribute & merged with package.manifest dashboards
+            composition.Dashboards()
+                .Add(composition.TypeLoader.GetTypes<IDashboard>());
+        }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/CompositionExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/CompositionExtensions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..eaf75bd7e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/CompositionExtensions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+using Umbraco.Core.Composing;
+using Umbraco.Web.Dashboards;
+
+// ReSharper disable once CheckNamespace
+namespace Umbraco.Web
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Provides extension methods to the <see cref="Composition"/> class.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static class WebCompositionExtensions
+    {
+        #region Collection Builders
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the backoffice dashboards collection builder.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="composition">The composition.</param>
+        public static DashboardCollectionBuilder Dashboards(this Composition composition)
+            => composition.WithCollectionBuilder<DashboardCollectionBuilder>();
+
+        #endregion
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/ContentDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/ContentDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/ContentDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/ContentDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/DashboardCollectionBuilder.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/DashboardCollectionBuilder.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/DashboardCollectionBuilder.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/DashboardCollectionBuilder.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/ExamineDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/ExamineDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/ExamineDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/ExamineDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/FormsDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/FormsDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/FormsDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/FormsDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/HealthCheckDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/HealthCheckDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/HealthCheckDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/HealthCheckDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/MediaDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/MediaDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/MediaDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/MediaDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/MembersDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/MembersDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/MembersDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/MembersDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/ProfilerDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/ProfilerDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/ProfilerDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/ProfilerDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/PublishedStatusDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/PublishedStatusDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/PublishedStatusDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/PublishedStatusDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/RedirectUrlDashboard.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/RedirectUrlDashboard.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/RedirectUrlDashboard.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/RedirectUrlDashboard.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/SettingsDashboards.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/SettingsDashboards.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/Dashboards/SettingsDashboards.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Dashboards/SettingsDashboards.cs
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice.csproj b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice.csproj
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..06939a3266
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice.csproj
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
+
+    <PropertyGroup>
+        <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
+    </PropertyGroup>
+
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <ProjectReference Include="..\Umbraco.Abstractions\Umbraco.Abstractions.csproj" />
+      <ProjectReference Include="..\Umbraco.Infrastructure\Umbraco.Infrastructure.csproj" />
+    </ItemGroup>
+
+</Project>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Umbraco.Web.UI.csproj b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Umbraco.Web.UI.csproj
index 276eed8344..63212b2fd4 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Umbraco.Web.UI.csproj
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Umbraco.Web.UI.csproj
@@ -128,6 +128,10 @@
       <Project>{f6de8da0-07cc-4ef2-8a59-2bc81dbb3830}</Project>
       <Name>Umbraco.PublishedCache.NuCache</Name>
     </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\Umbraco.Web.BackOffice\Umbraco.Web.BackOffice.csproj">
+      <Project>{9b95eef7-63fe-4432-8c63-166be9c1a929}</Project>
+      <Name>Umbraco.Web.BackOffice</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
     <ProjectReference Include="..\Umbraco.Web\Umbraco.Web.csproj">
       <Project>{651e1350-91b6-44b7-bd60-7207006d7003}</Project>
       <Name>Umbraco.Web</Name>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/CompositionExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/CompositionExtensions.cs
index ae5a4f9773..c7c1da4ca9 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/CompositionExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/CompositionExtensions.cs
@@ -104,13 +104,6 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
         public static SectionCollectionBuilder Sections(this Composition composition)
             => composition.WithCollectionBuilder<SectionCollectionBuilder>();
 
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets the backoffice dashboards collection builder.
-        /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="composition">The composition.</param>
-        public static DashboardCollectionBuilder Dashboards(this Composition composition)
-            => composition.WithCollectionBuilder<DashboardCollectionBuilder>();
-
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the backoffice OEmbed Providers collection builder.
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Runtime/WebInitialComposer.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/Runtime/WebInitialComposer.cs
index c06d8e3777..48d1a58b2d 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Runtime/WebInitialComposer.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Runtime/WebInitialComposer.cs
@@ -149,9 +149,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.Runtime
             composition.RegisterUnique<IEventMessagesFactory, DefaultEventMessagesFactory>();
             composition.RegisterUnique<IEventMessagesAccessor, HybridEventMessagesAccessor>();
             composition.RegisterUnique<ITreeService, TreeService>();
-            composition.RegisterUnique<ISectionService, SectionService>();            
-
-            composition.RegisterUnique<IDashboardService, DashboardService>();
+            composition.RegisterUnique<ISectionService, SectionService>();
 
             composition.RegisterUnique<IExamineManager, ExamineManager>();
 
@@ -257,10 +255,6 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.Runtime
                 .Append<FormsSection>()
                 .Append<TranslationSection>();
 
-            // register core CMS dashboards and 3rd party types - will be ordered by weight attribute & merged with package.manifest dashboards
-            composition.Dashboards()
-                .Add(composition.TypeLoader.GetTypes<IDashboard>());
-
             // register back office trees
             // the collection builder only accepts types inheriting from TreeControllerBase
             // and will filter out those that are not attributed with TreeAttribute
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj b/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj
index 5c226b257e..a02b3d6c55 100755
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj
@@ -145,17 +145,6 @@
     <Compile Include="Composing\CompositionExtensions\Installer.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Composing\LightInject\LightInjectContainer.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Compose\BackOfficeUserAuditEventsComponent.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\ContentDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\DashboardCollectionBuilder.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\ExamineDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\FormsDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\HealthCheckDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\MediaDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\MembersDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\ProfilerDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\PublishedStatusDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\RedirectUrlDashboard.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Dashboards\SettingsDashboards.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Editors\BackOfficePreviewModel.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Editors\Filters\ContentSaveModelValidator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Editors\Filters\MediaSaveModelValidator.cs" />
diff --git a/src/umbraco.sln b/src/umbraco.sln
index d54554434e..2b9f9d004b 100644
--- a/src/umbraco.sln
+++ b/src/umbraco.sln
@@ -117,6 +117,8 @@ Project("{9A19103F-16F7-4668-BE54-9A1E7A4F7556}") = "Umbraco.Examine", "Umbraco.
 EndProject
 Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "Umbraco.Examine.Lucene", "Umbraco.Examine.Lucene\Umbraco.Examine.Lucene.csproj", "{0FAD7D2A-D7DD-45B1-91FD-488BB6CDACEA}"
 EndProject
+Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "Umbraco.Web.BackOffice", "Umbraco.Web.BackOffice\Umbraco.Web.BackOffice.csproj", "{9B95EEF7-63FE-4432-8C63-166BE9C1A929}"
+EndProject
 Global
 	GlobalSection(SolutionConfigurationPlatforms) = preSolution
 		Debug|Any CPU = Debug|Any CPU
@@ -177,6 +179,10 @@ Global
 		{0FAD7D2A-D7DD-45B1-91FD-488BB6CDACEA}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{0FAD7D2A-D7DD-45B1-91FD-488BB6CDACEA}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
 		{0FAD7D2A-D7DD-45B1-91FD-488BB6CDACEA}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
+		{9B95EEF7-63FE-4432-8C63-166BE9C1A929}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
+		{9B95EEF7-63FE-4432-8C63-166BE9C1A929}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
+		{9B95EEF7-63FE-4432-8C63-166BE9C1A929}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
+		{9B95EEF7-63FE-4432-8C63-166BE9C1A929}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 	EndGlobalSection
 	GlobalSection(SolutionProperties) = preSolution
 		HideSolutionNode = FALSE