Colorize Admin
by Simple Themes · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 1 other plugin · 220+ installs across the portfolio →
This is a simple plugin that will make your wp admin panel theme much more pleasant for work.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
+2%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “colorize”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
47 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.3%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 8.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,189 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 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30, well behind 6.8.
Details
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 2645 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.2.30; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2645 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| colorize your tag | #13 | #8 | 0 |
| admin color your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| admin theme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| color scheme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| scheme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- One page off on “colorize”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “admin color”, “admin theme” and “color scheme” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 197 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 86% 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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 22 months ago; the previous band took 16 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 24 May 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ IT Hertz4.3y ago
Does what it says, but desperately needs preview function. Better still, put these schemes on the user profile page to allow choice right there along with the other available schemes. Looks like the project is dead anyway, so neither of the above will probably ever get done.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ May8.9y ago
Simple, Clean, Customizable ! Very nice for refleshment.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ AlexSpace9.8y ago
Thanks for this plugin! It is very nice! I like it very much!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ General Seed10.4y ago
Works fine, good plugin, thanks. 10 mb less of waste wp, now dashboard runs light, without words, five stars, very good code. Keep update when need it, thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pekox10.4y ago
Amazing! Much better-looking than classic wp color schemes. But maybe I miss some darker shades like dark gray, black, dark red, bloody red, etc. I hope they will be there once. There is also one mini-issue – it doesn’t support separators (I have added from Menu Editor plugin) in left menu, but still great. Looking forward to next update.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Mike V. Gorbunov10.5y ago
the most wonderful thing for admin theme customizing I’ve ever seen
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kirstie9910.7y ago
One of the best Admin color scheme plugins available. Thanks guys 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dubravkica10.9y ago
smooth thumbs up
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 126 languages, 4 at 90% or more · development strings
Plus 102 more locales with partial translations.
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This is a simple plugin that will make your wp admin panel theme much more pleasant for work."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 2 of 3 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Note").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions YouTube.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 326 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 0 of 5 tags appear in the text ("admin color", "admin theme", "color scheme", "colorize", "scheme" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-01-10 300+ → 200+ down after 475 days in tier
- 2023-09-23 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-09-22 300+ → 400+ up after 56 days in tier
- 2023-07-28 400+ → 300+ down after 297 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 500+ → 400+ down
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).
-
Eye-candy theme by WordPress Monsters 10+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags D -
Ultimate Color Schemes 40+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D - R Reimagined Admin Theme 10+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags D
- Q Quick admin color scheme picker 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
- R Random admin color scheme — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Colorize Admin into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/colorize-admin" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Colorize Admin — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Colorize Admin: 200+ active installs, 4.8★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/colorize-admin
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.