Fancy Admin UI
by Bob Orchard · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 1 other plugin · 1.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Clean, blue theme that's customizable for the Wordpress Admin panel and Admin Bar
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
Active installs
1K+
≈1.6K estimated
Momentum
+9%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin theme”, “blue” and “custom admin” 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.
47 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.0%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 50.5K 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 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35, 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 3231 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
4.4★ over 14 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3231 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 theme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| blue your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| ui your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| ux your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin theme”, “blue” and “custom admin” 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 304 · 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
8.9y ago
latest release · v2.1 · 27 Dec 2017
7
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 95% 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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 months ago; the previous band took 23 months to cross, which places it about 60% of the way through.
Install history since 21 Mar 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Canada WebMaster5.3y ago
Its good style and nice but need update, there is some conflict with the CSS, please update the plugin as 4 years is long and keep it up 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ saqnaz8.6y ago
Beautiful admin interface. Thanks Bob Orchard
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ louiswalch8.9y ago
This is the best Admin UI theme I’ve seen for WordPress. Very clean and minimal and does a nice job at improving the WordPress backend experience. I would highly suggest.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ riaziban9.3y ago
I test several plugins for Admin Them. it is very good and nice, i like it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ samthomas10.4y ago
It’s really nice, clean and user-friendly. Thanks Sam
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dhruva11.1y ago
Super Clean and beautiful.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ snovice11.3y ago
I have installed this and nothing changed in my admin dashboard.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ben Gray11.4y ago
This is a great admin theme with a clean design that works well with most front-end themes. Great for communities and other multi-user installs.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
0 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! 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 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 600 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("custom admin", "ui", "ux" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-01-27 2K+ → 1K+ down after 701 days in tier
- 2024-02-26 3K+ → 2K+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2024-02-20 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-02-19 3K+ → 2K+ down after 503 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 4K+ → 3K+ down after 413 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 3K+ → 4K+ up after 1428 days in tier
- 2017-09-19 500+ → 3K+ up
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).
-
WpRedesigned – Beautiful Custom Admin Theme 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
Old Style Admin UI 100+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D -
Modern Design Library 70+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags A -
kontur Admin Style 40+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags - B Better Admin Reading 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- B Button It Up 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Fancy Admin UI into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/fancy-admin-ui" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Fancy Admin UI — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Fancy Admin UI: 1K+ active installs, 4.4★ (14 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/fancy-admin-ui
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.