Admin Classic Borders
Over the past few years, User-Interface design has moved towards flatness. One only needs look at Windows 8 to see the direction we are headed in. Starting with version 3.8, WordPress joined in that movement, with admin…
Consider an alternative
Admin Classic Borders shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 20+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 36/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (20+ active installs)
- No update in 10 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.6 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Admin Classic Borders stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| admin | >100 |
| backend | >100 |
| borders | >100 |
| mp6 | #16 |
| style | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews
About Admin Classic Borders
From the official readme · v1.7.1Description
Over the past few years, User-Interface design has moved towards flatness. One only needs look at Windows 8 to see the direction we are headed in. Starting with version 3.8, WordPress joined in that movement, with admin back-end getting a design overhaul. Borders have been removed from the menus, text is enlarged, image icons are replaced with text icons. Much of this is good and a long time coming. Some of it, however, decreases readability and usability.
This plugin gives you several options to tweak the knew look. The main feature (and namesake) is the ability to tweak the borders on the main menu. Additionally, you can set a hover effect for rows (and choose the color). Finally, there are a few misc improvements. The plugin list has blue bars on the left side of all active plugins. These get a 1px break between to visually indicate that are per-plugin, not per-list. Borders on all lists besides the plugin list get consistent bottom-borders (between items). All these options are on the new Admin page under Appearance.
Installation
There are two ways to install this plugin.
Manual:
- Upload the
admin-classic-bordersfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Go to the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress, find ‘Admin Classic Borders’ in the list, and select ‘Activate’.
Through the WP Repository:
- Go to the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress, click on the ‘Add New’ button.
- Search for ‘Admin Classic Borders’. Click ‘Install Now’.
- Return to the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress, find ‘Admin Classic Borders’ in the list, and select ‘Activate’.
Changelog
This is the first real version. 0.1 was rejected from the reposity due to bug. So really this upgrade notice is a formality.
1.7.1
- WordPress 4.6 compatibility bump
1.7
- WordPress 4.4 compatibility bump
- BUGFIX: When Admin page was moved in 1.6, the link on Plugins list wasn’t changed, and was broken. Now fixed.
1.6
- WordPress 4.1 compatibility bump.
- Moved settings page. Previously it was “Admin Classic Borders” under “Settings”. Should now appear as “Admin” under “Appearance”.
1.5
- Added persistent changes to Admin Toolbar for front end users who aren’t logged in. Props to
snihfor suggesting. - BUGFIX: Slideout search form not changing heights to match when old toolbar height is restored. Props to
snihfor catching. - Removed compatibility for WordPress 3.5-3.7 With MP6 Plugin.
1.4
- Added live preview of Admin Bar height change.
- Small compatibility tweaks for WP 3.9.
- Fixed enqueuing order bug that was report in support forum.
1.3
- Added an option to reset the Admin Bar to 28px in height, as it was before 3.8 (Default is now 32px). This fixes issues in themes that use absolute positioning and assume the height of the Admin Bar to be 28px.
- Found that bottom borders between table row items on admin options pages had been removed in 3.8 (though they were included in the final versions of MP6). Restored them.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Admin Classic Borders: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 16, 2026
Is Admin Classic Borders free?
Yes. Admin Classic Borders is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Admin Classic Borders safe to use in 2026?
Admin Classic Borders shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 20+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 36/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Admin Classic Borders?
Admin Classic Borders is active on 20+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 5,056 times since it launched in November 2013. It was downloaded 41 times in the last 30 days.
Does Admin Classic Borders work with WordPress 7.1?
Admin Classic Borders is officially tested up to WordPress 4.6.30, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Admin Classic Borders last updated?
The latest version, 1.7.1, was released on August 14, 2016 (10 years ago).
Who makes Admin Classic Borders?
Admin Classic Borders is developed and maintained by Andy Mercer.
What are the best alternatives to Admin Classic Borders?
The most popular alternatives to Admin Classic Borders are Loginizer (1M+ installs), Redux Framework (900K+ installs) and Admin Menu Editor (300K+ installs).
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