diff --git a/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.hbs b/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.hbs
index 6181b3f74a..46b88b326b 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.hbs
+++ b/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.hbs
@@ -16,90 +16,150 @@
           @breadcrumbs={{array (hash label="Vault" route="vault.cluster.dashboard" icon="vault") (hash label="Namespaces")}}
         />
       </:breadcrumbs>
+      <:badges>
+        <Hds::Badge @icon="org" @text={{this.namespacePath}} data-test-badge="namespace-path" />
+      </:badges>
+      <:actions>
+        {{#unless @model.namespaces}}
+          <Hds::Button
+            class="has-right-margin-4"
+            @color="secondary"
+            @icon="bulb"
+            @text="New to Namespaces?"
+            {{on "click" this.enterGuidedStart}}
+            data-test-button="guided-start"
+          />
+          <Hds::Button
+            class="has-right-margin-4"
+            @icon="plus"
+            @route="vault.cluster.access.namespaces.create"
+            @text="Create namespace"
+            data-test-button="create-namespace"
+          />
+        {{/unless}}
+      </:actions>
     </Page::Header>
 
-    <Toolbar>
-      <ToolbarFilters>
-        <FilterInputExplicit
-          @query={{@model.pageFilter}}
-          @placeholder="Search"
-          @handleSearch={{this.handleSearch}}
-          @handleInput={{this.handleInput}}
-          @handleKeyDown={{this.handleKeyDown}}
-        />
-      </ToolbarFilters>
-      <ToolbarActions>
-        <Hds::Button
-          class="has-right-margin-4"
-          @color="secondary"
-          @icon="reload"
-          @iconPosition="trailing"
-          @text="Refresh list"
-          {{on "click" this.refreshNamespaceList}}
-          data-test-button="refresh-namespace-list"
-        />
-        <ToolbarLink @route="vault.cluster.access.namespaces.create" @type="add" data-test-link-to="create-namespace">
-          Create namespace
-        </ToolbarLink>
-      </ToolbarActions>
-    </Toolbar>
-
-    <ListView
-      @items={{@model.namespaces}}
-      @itemNoun="namespace"
-      @paginationRouteName="vault.cluster.access.namespaces"
-      @onPageChange={{this.handlePageChange}}
-      as |list|
-    >
-      {{#if @model.namespaces.length}}
-        <ListItem as |Item|>
-          <Item.content>
-            {{list.item.id}}
-          </Item.content>
-          <Item.menu>
-            <Hds::Dropdown @isInline={{true}} @listPosition="bottom-right" as |dd|>
-              <dd.ToggleIcon
-                @icon="more-horizontal"
-                @text="More options"
-                @hasChevron={{false}}
-                data-test-popup-menu-trigger
-              />
-              {{#let (concat this.namespace.path (if this.namespace.path "/") list.item.id) as |targetNamespace|}}
-                {{#if (includes targetNamespace this.namespace.accessibleNamespaces)}}
-                  <dd.Interactive
-                    {{on "click" (fn this.switchNamespace targetNamespace)}}
-                    data-test-popup-menu="switch"
-                  >Switch to namespace</dd.Interactive>
-                {{/if}}
-              {{/let}}
-              <dd.Interactive
-                @color="critical"
-                {{on "click" (fn (mut this.nsToDelete) list.item)}}
-                data-test-popup-menu="delete"
-              >Delete</dd.Interactive>
-            </Hds::Dropdown>
-            {{#if (eq this.nsToDelete list.item)}}
-              <ConfirmModal
-                @color="critical"
-                @onClose={{fn (mut this.nsToDelete) null}}
-                @onConfirm={{fn this.deleteNamespace list.item}}
-                @confirmTitle="Delete this namespace?"
-                @confirmMessage="Any engines or mounts in this namespace will also be removed."
-              />
-            {{/if}}
-          </Item.menu>
-        </ListItem>
-      {{else}}
-        <list.empty>
-          <Hds::Link::Standalone
-            @icon="learn-link"
-            @text="Secure multi-tenancy with namespaces tutorial"
-            @href={{doc-link "/vault/tutorials/enterprise/namespaces"}}
+    {{#if @model.namespaces}}
+      <Toolbar>
+        <ToolbarFilters>
+          <FilterInputExplicit
+            @query={{@model.pageFilter}}
+            @placeholder="Search"
+            @handleSearch={{this.handleSearch}}
+            @handleInput={{this.handleInput}}
+            @handleKeyDown={{this.handleKeyDown}}
           />
-        </list.empty>
+        </ToolbarFilters>
+        <ToolbarActions>
+          <Hds::Button
+            class="has-right-margin-4"
+            @color="secondary"
+            @icon="reload"
+            @iconPosition="trailing"
+            @text="Refresh list"
+            {{on "click" this.refreshNamespaceList}}
+            data-test-button="refresh-namespace-list"
+          />
+          <ToolbarLink @route="vault.cluster.access.namespaces.create" @type="add" data-test-link-to="create-namespace">
+            Create namespace
+          </ToolbarLink>
+        </ToolbarActions>
+      </Toolbar>
+
+      <ListView
+        @items={{@model.namespaces}}
+        @itemNoun="namespace"
+        @paginationRouteName="vault.cluster.access.namespaces"
+        @onPageChange={{this.handlePageChange}}
+        as |list|
+      >
+        {{#if @model.namespaces.length}}
+          <ListItem as |Item|>
+            <Item.content>
+              {{list.item.id}}
+            </Item.content>
+            <Item.menu>
+              <Hds::Dropdown @isInline={{true}} @listPosition="bottom-right" as |dd|>
+                <dd.ToggleIcon
+                  @icon="more-horizontal"
+                  @text="More options"
+                  @hasChevron={{false}}
+                  data-test-popup-menu-trigger
+                />
+                {{#let (concat this.namespace.path (if this.namespace.path "/") list.item.id) as |targetNamespace|}}
+                  {{#if (includes targetNamespace this.namespace.accessibleNamespaces)}}
+                    <dd.Interactive
+                      {{on "click" (fn this.switchNamespace targetNamespace)}}
+                      data-test-popup-menu="switch"
+                    >Switch to namespace</dd.Interactive>
+                  {{/if}}
+                {{/let}}
+                <dd.Interactive
+                  @color="critical"
+                  {{on "click" (fn (mut this.nsToDelete) list.item)}}
+                  data-test-popup-menu="delete"
+                >Delete</dd.Interactive>
+              </Hds::Dropdown>
+              {{#if (eq this.nsToDelete list.item)}}
+                <ConfirmModal
+                  @color="critical"
+                  @onClose={{fn (mut this.nsToDelete) null}}
+                  @onConfirm={{fn this.deleteNamespace list.item}}
+                  @confirmTitle="Delete this namespace?"
+                  @confirmMessage="Any engines or mounts in this namespace will also be removed."
+                />
+              {{/if}}
+            </Item.menu>
+          </ListItem>
+        {{else}}
+          <list.empty>
+            <Hds::Link::Standalone
+              @icon="learn-link"
+              @text="Secure multi-tenancy with namespaces tutorial"
+              @href={{doc-link "/vault/tutorials/enterprise/namespaces"}}
+            />
+          </list.empty>
+        {{/if}}
+      </ListView>
+    {{else}}
+      {{#if this.showSetupAlert}}
+        <Hds::Alert @type="inline" class="top-margin-32" as |A|>
+          <A.Title>Your current setup is 1 namespace.</A.Title>
+          <A.Description>Based on your answer about your security policy in the Guided start, no new namespaces are required.</A.Description>
+        </Hds::Alert>
       {{/if}}
-    </ListView>
+
+      <Hds::Card::Container @hasBorder={{true}} class="has-padding-l top-margin-32">
+        <Hds::ApplicationState @align="left" class="is-marginless" as |A|>
+          <A.Header
+            @title="No namespaces yet"
+            @titleTag="h2"
+            @icon="skip"
+            class="align-items-end"
+            data-test-empty-state-title
+          />
+          <A.Body @text="Your namespaces will be listed here. Add a namespace to get started." />
+          <A.Footer as |F|>
+            <F.Button
+              @color="secondary"
+              @icon="reload"
+              @text="Refresh"
+              {{on "click" this.refreshNamespaceList}}
+              data-test-button="refresh-namespace-list"
+            />
+            <F.LinkStandalone
+              @icon="learn-link"
+              @text="Secure multi-tenancy with namespaces tutorial"
+              @href={{doc-link "/vault/tutorials/enterprise/namespaces"}}
+            />
+          </A.Footer>
+        </Hds::ApplicationState>
+      </Hds::Card::Container>
+    {{/if}}
+
   {{/if}}
+
 {{else}}
   <UpgradePage @title="Namespaces" @minimumEdition="Vault Enterprise Pro" />
 {{/if}}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.ts b/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.ts
index 2ce1b7b61c..0976b8e81e 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.ts
+++ b/ui/app/components/page/namespaces.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import Component from '@glimmer/component';
 import keys from 'core/utils/keys';
 
 import type ApiService from 'vault/services/api';
+import type FlagsService from 'vault/services/flags';
 import type FlashMessageService from 'vault/services/flash-messages';
 import type NamespaceService from 'vault/services/namespace';
 import type RouterService from '@ember/routing/router-service';
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ interface NamespaceModel {
 export default class PageNamespacesComponent extends Component<Args> {
   @service declare readonly api: ApiService;
   @service declare readonly router: RouterService;
+  @service declare readonly flags: FlagsService;
   @service declare readonly flashMessages: FlashMessageService;
   @service declare namespace: NamespaceService;
 
@@ -53,6 +55,7 @@ export default class PageNamespacesComponent extends Component<Args> {
   // browser query param to prevent unnecessary re-renders.
   @tracked query;
   @tracked nsToDelete = null;
+  @tracked showSetupAlert = false;
   @tracked hasDismissedWizard = false;
 
   wizardId = 'namespace';
@@ -68,6 +71,21 @@ export default class PageNamespacesComponent extends Component<Args> {
     }
   }
 
+  // show the full available namespace path e.g. "root/ns1/child2", "admin/ns1/child2"
+  get namespacePath() {
+    if (this.namespace.inRootNamespace) {
+      return 'root';
+    }
+
+    // For nested namespaces, show "root/" prefix if not HVD managed and no separate user root
+    if (!this.namespace.userRootNamespace && !this.flags.isHvdManaged) {
+      return `root/${this.namespace.path}`;
+    }
+
+    // If there is a userRootNamespace or it is HVD managed, then the path alone will suffice
+    return this.namespace.path;
+  }
+
   get showWizard() {
     // Show when there are no existing namespaces and it is not in a dismissed state
     return !this.hasDismissedWizard && !this.args.model.namespaces?.length;
@@ -123,6 +141,11 @@ export default class PageNamespacesComponent extends Component<Args> {
     }
   }
 
+  @action
+  enterGuidedStart() {
+    this.hasDismissedWizard = false;
+  }
+
   @action handlePageChange() {
     this.args.onRefresh();
   }
diff --git a/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.hbs b/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.hbs
index f5c0b36287..3068b35da7 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.hbs
+++ b/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.hbs
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@
     <Wizard::Namespaces::Welcome />
   </:welcome>
   <:exit>
-    {{#unless (eq this.wizardState.creationMethod this.methods.UI)}}
+    {{#if this.shouldShowExitButton}}
       <Hds::Button @text={{this.exitText}} @color="secondary" {{on "click" this.onDismiss}} />
-    {{/unless}}
+    {{/if}}
   </:exit>
   <:submit>
     {{#if (eq this.wizardState.securityPolicyChoice this.policy.FLEXIBLE)}}
diff --git a/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.ts b/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.ts
index 853da7f53a..098e01d73c 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.ts
+++ b/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/namespace-wizard.ts
@@ -72,9 +72,17 @@ export default class WizardNamespacesWizardComponent extends Component<Args> {
     }
   }
 
+  get isFinalStep() {
+    return this.currentStep === this.steps.length - 1;
+  }
+
+  get shouldShowExitButton() {
+    // Show exit button unless we're on the final step with UI creation method
+    return !(this.wizardState.creationMethod === CreationMethod.UI && this.isFinalStep);
+  }
+
   get exitText() {
-    return this.currentStep === this.steps.length - 1 &&
-      this.wizardState.securityPolicyChoice === SecurityPolicy.STRICT
+    return this.isFinalStep && this.wizardState.securityPolicyChoice === SecurityPolicy.STRICT
       ? 'Done & Exit'
       : 'Exit';
   }
diff --git a/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/step-3.ts b/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/step-3.ts
index 4b3cdd8cd2..c8061e4536 100644
--- a/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/step-3.ts
+++ b/ui/app/components/wizard/namespaces/step-3.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export default class WizardNamespacesStep3 extends Component<Args> {
       icon: 'sidebar',
       label: CreationMethod.UI,
       description:
-        'Apply changes immediately. Note: Changes made here may be overwritten if you also use Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).',
+        'Apply changes immediately. Note: Changes made in the UI will be overwritten by any future updates made via Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).',
     },
   ];
   tabOptions = ['API', 'CLI'];
diff --git a/ui/tests/acceptance/access/namespaces/index-test.js b/ui/tests/acceptance/access/namespaces/index-test.js
index f4b2230c42..208081b715 100644
--- a/ui/tests/acceptance/access/namespaces/index-test.js
+++ b/ui/tests/acceptance/access/namespaces/index-test.js
@@ -74,21 +74,9 @@ module('Acceptance | Enterprise | /access/namespaces', function (hooks) {
     const testNS = 'test-create-ns-ui';
 
     // Verify test-create-ns does not exist in the Manage Namespace page
-    await fillIn(GENERAL.filterInputExplicit, testNS);
-    await click(GENERAL.button('Search'));
-    await waitFor(GENERAL.emptyStateTitle, {
-      timeout: 2000,
-      timeoutMessage: 'timed out waiting for empty state title to render',
-    });
-    assert
-      .dom(GENERAL.emptyStateTitle)
-      .hasText(
-        'No namespaces yet',
-        'Empty state is displayed when searching for the namespace we have created in the UI but have not refreshed the list yet'
-      );
 
     // Create a new namespace in the UI
-    await click(GENERAL.linkTo('create-namespace'));
+    await click(GENERAL.button('create-namespace'));
     await fillIn(GENERAL.inputByAttr('path'), testNS);
     await click(GENERAL.submitButton);
 
@@ -113,11 +101,11 @@ module('Acceptance | Enterprise | /access/namespaces', function (hooks) {
     // Setup: Create namespace(s) via the CLI
     const testNS = 'asdf';
     await runCmd(createNS(testNS), false);
+    await click(GENERAL.button('refresh-namespace-list'));
 
     // Search for created namespace// Enter search text
     await fillIn(GENERAL.filterInputExplicit, testNS);
     await click(GENERAL.button('Search'));
-    await click(GENERAL.button('refresh-namespace-list'));
 
     // Verify the menu options
     await waitFor(GENERAL.menuTrigger, {
@@ -135,11 +123,11 @@ module('Acceptance | Enterprise | /access/namespaces', function (hooks) {
     // Setup: Create namespace(s) via the CLI
     const testNS = 'test-create-ns-switch';
     await runCmd(createNS(testNS), false);
+    await click(GENERAL.button('refresh-namespace-list'));
 
     // Search for created namespace
     await fillIn(GENERAL.filterInputExplicit, testNS);
     await click(GENERAL.button('Search'));
-    await click(GENERAL.button('refresh-namespace-list'));
 
     // Switch namespace
     await waitFor(GENERAL.menuTrigger);