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.
48 health vs 54 average across 3,792 Admin & Utilities plugins
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 5.3.23, well behind 6.8.
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
Biggest win: Update recency
To rank higher: Last updated 2419 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Daily downloads
Since 2022-10-05 · 1,426 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges
80
now · peak 159
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
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.
Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.
Install history · since 2022-10-04 · 1,381 observations
Estimated value
What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.
Est. annual revenue
Est. acquisition value
No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.
Details
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ disho756.4y ago
Thank you! New defaults hurt my eyes. You saved me!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Sonjoe6.6y ago
Thanks for plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ fatcb6.7y 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 ↗ - ★★★★★ SlicedInvoices6.8y 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 ↗ - ★★★★★ crawford46.8y 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 ↗ - ★★★★★ moonblood6.8y 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 Design6.8y ago
Brings good old styles to wp admin area.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Stefan Velev6.8y 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
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 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B - C Clean WP Admin Menu 600+ installs · 4.5★ · 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 2026-08-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/old-style-admin-ui