Is Shiny Updates free?

Yes, Shiny Updates is free to use. It is available as a free plugin on WordPress.org.

How many websites use Shiny Updates?

Shiny Updates has 20 active installations as tracked by WordPress.org.

What are the best Shiny Updates alternatives?

Popular alternatives to Shiny Updates include Loginizer, Redux Framework, LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming…. You can compare them side-by-side on our comparison pages.

Does Shiny Updates work with the latest WordPress?

Shiny Updates has been tested up to WordPress 4.6.30. It requires WordPress 4.6+ and PHP false+.

Shiny Updates — Reviews, Rating & Alternatives (2026)

Name: Shiny Updates
Rating: 4.8 (14 reviews)
Author: Konstantin Obenland

As of April 2026, Shiny Updates is a WordPress admin plugin with 20 active installations and a 4.8/5 rating from 14 reviews. It has been downloaded 30K+ times in total. Requires WordPress 4.6+ and PHP false+. Available on WordPress.org since 2015. Last updated 9 years ago — may have compatibility concerns. Top alternative: Loginizer.

4.8/514 reviews

20active installs

30K+total downloads

11 yearssince 2015

Overview

Shiny Updates is a WordPress Core Feature Plugin.

It replaces The Bleak Screen of Sadness™ (example) with a simpler and more straight forward experience when installing, updating, and deleting plugins and themes.
Progress updates for these actions don’t add a benefit, they are disruptive and confusing. Shiny Updates deals with these details behind the scenes, leaving users with clear actions and results.

Development for this plugin takes place at GitHub.
To report bugs or feature requests, please use Github issues.

Testing

We need help testing the user flows! Please install the Shiny Updates plugin, run the tests below, and share your feedback in the #feature-shinyupdates channel in Slack or create an issue on GitHub.

Update core