Old Style Admin UI
by Darken-x · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 1 other plugin · 1K+ installs across the portfolio →
If you didn't like the new Wordpress 5.3 accessibility blue style for the buttons and other parts of the admin UI, this plugin is for you.
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 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
-11%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “interface” and “old school” 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.
48 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.7%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 3.7K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,187 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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.3.27, 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 2480 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.3.27; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 9 reviews, smoothed to 4.24★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2480 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 | ||
| interface your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| old school your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| ui your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| ux 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”, “interface” and “old school” 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 159 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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.
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 · 100% 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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.2 years 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 4 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ disho756.5y ago
Thank you! New defaults hurt my eyes. You saved me!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Sonjoe6.7y ago
Thanks for plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ fatcb6.8y ago
The new UI is awful, can’t show that to a client, it looks broken. This plugin fixes the ugly. Few minor issues with specific plugins (eg, woocommerce’s notice pink buttons) but it can’t cater to every other plugin on wp.org, and a million times better than without
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ SlicedInvoices6.9y ago
I absolutely can’t stand the new 5.3 design… thank you SO much for giving me back the normal styling! 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ crawford46.9y ago
Thank you very much to the creator of this plugin. It restores the admin area to a design which I much prefer.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ moonblood7.0y ago
This plugin does exactly what is says and is precisely what I needed. It also comes in perfect timing when I was just about to lose all hope and thinking of installing far more complex plugins in order to achieve this, though they would have cluttered my website with useless functions. Thanks again! PS: This plugin is so lightweight it produces absolutely no difference in time or speed whatsoever when active, tested this with a before and after tool and it makes no difference in loading time or queries or anything else. The whole css has only the essentials packed in just 7kb and is minified, nice :))
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Mastafu Design7.0y ago
Brings good old styles to wp admin area.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Stefan Velev7.0y ago
Thank you man – lovin your plugin. Back to normal, since the 5.3 styles remind me of Windows 95 or even worst – 3.x 😀
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3.1
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "If you didn't like the new Wordpress 5.3 accessibility blue style for the buttons and other parts of the ad..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 773 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("interface", "old school", "ux" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-08-26 200+ → 100+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-08-24 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-23 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-22 100+ → 200+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2024-08-19 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-18 100+ → 200+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2024-08-14 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-13 100+ → 200+ up after 4 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).
-
Radio Buttons for Taxonomies 20K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags C -
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B - C Category Checklist Tree 5K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Fancy Admin UI 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D -
Taxonomy Tags to Checkboxes 700+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B - C Collapsible Categories in the Dashboard 600+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Old Style Admin UI into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/old-style-admin-ui" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Old Style Admin UI — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Old Style Admin UI: 100+ active installs, 5.0★ (9 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/old-style-admin-ui
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