Admin Bar Toggle
by James Kemp · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 2 other plugins · 700+ installs across the portfolio →
Hides the admin bar on the front-end by default, and adds a toggle to activate it.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
400+
≈450 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “admin bar” and “jquery” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
50 health vs 56 average across 5,897 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.0%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 19.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,191 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 11+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.2.39, well behind 6.8.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2018-08-10Reviewers keep calling it a simple, handy way to preview a site without the admin bar, with a few noting quirks on some themes, a missing responsive admin bar option, and one report that it stopped working after an update.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 4094 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.2.39; the current branch is 6.8
4.9★ over 18 reviews, smoothed to 4.31★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4094 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| admin bar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| jquery your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| toggle your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| ui your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin”, “admin bar” and “jquery” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 187 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
11.2y ago
latest release · v1.4.1 · 17 Aug 2015
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 96% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 22 Mar 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ wp.kytten8.2y ago
Thanks for the plugin! Keep up the good work!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jomo8.9y ago
If your theme has a top menu bar, this plugin is very useful to stop the wordpress Admin bar interfering with your review of the design but keep it handy to use when needed
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gavsiu9.8y ago
Exactly what I’m looking for while I develop my theme.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ haimuoiba9.9y ago
Very neat solution.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ suebphatt10.1y ago
loved this plugin, but it’s not working with the latest update.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ellice90910.8y ago
It’s great for client’s to review their website that is only view-able while logged in. Works as described and is pretty fool-proof.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mirz12311.6y ago
Being able to see the site as a regular user would is invaluable. Very easy to toggle. Is quirky on some themes, but overall amazing.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ marcrock11.7y ago
Thanks too much, James! A perfect solution…
Read on wp.org ↗
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
2 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Hides the admin bar on the front-end by default, and adds a toggle to activate it."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 474 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "jquery", "ui" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-17 500+ → 400+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2026-03-05 400+ → 500+ up after 15 days in tier
- 2026-02-18 500+ → 400+ down after 199 days in tier
- 2025-08-03 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-02 500+ → 600+ up after 8 days in tier
- 2025-07-25 600+ → 500+ down after 29 days in tier
- 2025-06-26 700+ → 600+ down after 234 days in tier
- 2024-11-04 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Hide Admin Bar 20K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags B -
Radio Buttons for Taxonomies 20K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags C - C Category Checklist Tree 5K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
- W WP Hide Dashboard 2K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
- D Disable Admin Bar 800+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Taxonomy Tags to Checkboxes 700+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Admin Bar Toggle into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/admin-bar-toggle" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Admin Bar Toggle — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Admin Bar Toggle: 400+ active installs, 4.9★ (18 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/admin-bar-toggle
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