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© 2026 PluginSift. Data sourced from WordPress.org. · [email protected]

  1. Home
  2. Plugins
  3. UI
  4. Old Style Admin UI
Old Style Admin UI icon

Old Style Admin UI

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.

By Darken-x·UI·Free
5(9 reviews)
·100 active installs·Updated 6 years ago
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As of April 2026, Old Style Admin UI is a WordPress ui plugin with 100 active installations and a 5/5 rating from 9 reviews. It has been downloaded 3.1K+ times in total. Requires WordPress 4.2.3+ and PHP false+. Available on WordPress.org since 2019. Last updated 6 years ago — may have compatibility concerns. Top alternative: Radio Buttons for Taxonomies.

5/59 reviews
100active installs
3.1K+total downloads
7 yearssince 2019

Overview

After I updated WordPress to 5.3, I thought something had gone wrong with the update when I saw those borders in the admin area, the blue color of texts on the form elements and the lack of design subtlety of the UI. So I decided to create a plugin that would undo that.

The plugin styles the WordPress 5.3+ admin panel back to how it was before the 5.3 update. So, if you also disliked the vivid blue texts and strong borders of the form elements, like buttons, inputs and selects, or found them to be way too prominent, this back-to-the-good-old-days “legacy” plugin will allow you to update WordPress to 5.3 and benefit from its code updates, while still retaining all of the previous version’s backend UI styles.

Very very lightweight and easy to use.

Read full description on WordPress.org

Ratings & Reviews

59 reviews
5 ★
9
4 ★
0
3 ★
0
2 ★
0
1 ★
0

Compatibility

WordPress4.2.3+ requiredTested up to 5.3.21
PHPfalse+ required

Top Alternatives to Old Style Admin UI

Radio Buttons for Taxonomies icon
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Fancy Admin UI icon
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Frequently Asked Questions

Changelog

1.0.3

Extended the old style UI to Gutenberg and other common editors. Added compatibility with the Advanced Custom Fields and its recent CSS updates.

View full changelog on WordPress.org

Contributors

Darken-xDarken-x
Plugin Info
Version
1.0.3
Last Updated
Jan 16, 2020
WP Requires
4.2.3+
Tested Up To
5.3.21
PHP Requires
false+
Active Installs
100
Downloads
3.1K+
Added
Nov 17, 2019
Business
Free

Tags

uiuxadmininterfaceold school

Developer

D
Darken-x
2 plugins0.0M+ total installs
View all plugins →

Quick Compare

Old Style Admin UI vs Radio Buttons for Taxonomies→Old Style Admin UI vs Category Checklist Tree→Old Style Admin UI vs Taxonomy Tags to Checkboxes→

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Analysis and metrics by PluginSift.