Simple Admin Language Change
by Karolina Vyskocilova · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 5 other plugins · 29K+ installs across the portfolio →
Change your dashboard language quickly and easily from the admin bar as often as you need.
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
A 89/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
+83%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “localization” for “change”. “localization” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #18. “change” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →8.7%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 115.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,186 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.
This plugin shipped 2 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 88 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.7★ over 22 reviews, smoothed to 4.28★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
18%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| backend language your tag | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| admin language your tag | #2 | #4 | down 1 |
| language | #3 | #6 | 0 |
| change | #5 | #6 | down 2 |
| admin customization | #4 | #6 | 0 |
| english your tag | #7 | #11 | 0 |
| admin | #7 | #9 | 0 |
| backend your tag | #8 | #9 | down 2 |
| admin bar customization | #4 | #6 | up 1 |
| site language | #5 | #9 | 0 |
| hide admin bar from front end | #8 | #14 | 0 |
| admin bar | #13 | #15 | up 2 |
| customize admin bar | #6 | #8 | 0 |
| localization your tag | #18 | #20 | down 3 |
| replace admin bar | #7 | #10 | up 1 |
| admin notices | #17 | #17 | down 1 |
| hide admin bar | #17 | #20 | up 3 |
| admin bar hide | #18 | #20 | down 1 |
| admin dashboard | #23 | #17 | down 3 |
| wordpress admin bar | #24 | #23 | 0 |
61 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 34 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “localization” for “change”. “localization” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #18. “change” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 7.4K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v2.1.1 · 4 Aug 2026
11
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 45% 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 “10K+”. 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 90% of the way through.
Install history since 8 Apr 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Niels Lange1.9y ago
I was looking for a plugin like Plugin Toggle but for languages, and this one was exactly what I needed. It works perfectly for testing multilingual sites. Thank you, @vyskoczilova, for creating such a great plugin! 🙌
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Alex De Py2.8y ago
I recently implemented the ‘Simple Admin Language Change’ plugin on my WordPress site, and I must say, it’s a game-changer for anyone managing a multilingual site. The ease of switching languages in the admin area, without affecting the frontend, is incredibly efficient. It seamlessly integrates with the existing WordPress setup, making the user experience for my team much smoother. As someone who has struggled with managing multiple languages on a single site, this plugin has simplified the process remarkably. It’s lightweight, unobtrusive, and does exactly what it promises without any unnecessary complexity. A must-have for WordPress site administrators handling multilingual content!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Groovyx92.9y ago
Exactly what I was looking for: no more poorly translated plugins admin, I can now switch to English to avoid this and also mismatched half backed translation. I also like VERY much the fact you did not try to reinvent the wheel and simply use a feature already in profile, but making it easy to use and convenient (top bar). 5 stars well deserved.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ yehudaT3.1y ago
A simple yet very needed plugin in none English sites. Works perfectly and right to the point. Thank you.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mrloki3.1y ago
Above the plugin’s title on wordpress.org, it says: “This plugin hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress.” —— I tested it, it works pretty well —— it is compatible with WordPress 6.3.1 – It works as expected! it’s so useful Thank you
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Aliandro3.6y ago
Great plugin. Work as expected. No ads, no push to buy a pro version (there is none AFAIK). This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by Aliandro.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bobbobbius4.5y ago
Works great
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rptr4.5y ago
Very simply you can change language to your home language. I found some plugins what allows you to change language to english, but with this one you can change it to any language. 100% recommend.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- 2026-08-04 Version 2.1.1 Fix admin bar language switch being blocked by ModSecurity (OWASP CRS rule 920470) due to a malformed Content-Type header. The trailing semicolon in application/x-www-form-urlencoded; was rejected as an illegal media-typ 2.1.1
- 2026-03-18 Version 2.1.0 Add salc_languages filter to allow developers to customize which languages are displayed in the admin bar dropdown. See the Customization section for details. 2.1.0
- 2024-10-31 Version 2.0.5 Fix PHP 8.2 deprecation notice on mb_convert_encoding. 2.0.5
- 2021-07-27 Version 2.0.4 Lower the permissions check – anybody with “read” permissions (e.g., subscriber) can change their locale with the dropdown when logged into the admin. Hide the language switcher on the front end – the top admin bar is af 2.0.4
- 2021-05-08 Version 2.0.3 Replace textdomain kbnt-salc with simple-admin-language-change to make it work with GlotPress ( more info ) 2.0.3
- 2021-05-03 Version 2.0.2 Fix security issues Check for the empty nonce. Escape translations. 2.0.2
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (2.1.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2021-05-05 Missing Authorization Affects <= 2.0.1 Patched in 2.0.2
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 8 languages, 8 at 90% or more
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 28 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 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 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 376 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 language", "backend", "backend language", "english", "localization" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-08-28 9K+ → 10K+ up after 184 days in tier
- 2024-02-26 8K+ → 9K+ up after 35 days in tier
- 2024-01-22 9K+ → 8K+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2024-01-19 8K+ → 9K+ up after 244 days in tier
- 2023-05-20 7K+ → 8K+ up after 94 days in tier
- 2023-02-15 6K+ → 7K+ up after 134 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 7K+ → 6K+ down after 198 days in tier
- 2022-03-20 6K+ → 7K+ up after 216 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).
- S Show Translation Origin — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
Polylang 900K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag B -
Performant Translations 30K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
WP Multilang – Translation and Multilingual Plugin 10K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
Bogo 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
WPGlobus 8K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Admin Language Change into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-admin-language-change" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Admin Language Change — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Admin Language Change: 10K+ active installs, 4.7★ (22 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-admin-language-change
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