WPThumbs
Themes Plugins By purpose By industry Best-of lists Fix it guides
Free Plugin by Adam Silverstein v3.1.1

User Admin Simplifier

Lets any Administrator simplify the WordPress Admin interface, on a per-user basis, by turning specific menu/submenu sections off.

User Admin Simplifier

The facts

Rating
5★ from 31
Active installs
10k+
Price
Free
Last updated
19 Aug 2026
Added
Oct 2012
Requires WP
3.0.1
Tested up to
WP 7.1
Downloads
83,601

Our analysis

AI-assisted

User Admin Simplifier is a WordPress plugin designed to help Administrators customise the WordPress Admin interface for different users. It allows for the hiding of specific menus, submenus, and the admin bar on a per-user basis or based on user roles.

The plugin offers three modes for menu control: per-user only, role-based only, and role-based with per-user overrides. This flexibility makes it suitable for sites where different users require tailored access to the admin features, enhancing usability and organisation.

Best for: This plugin is suitable for WordPress sites with multiple users needing different admin access levels.

What it does well

  • ✓Customises the WordPress Admin interface per user
  • ✓Offers three flexible menu control modes
  • ✓Preserves existing per-user configurations
  • ✓Accessible settings page for Administrators

Where it falls short

  • •No information on additional features or support
  • •Setup requires technical knowledge of PHP and JavaScript

Verdict

User Admin Simplifier provides a straightforward solution for managing user permissions in the WordPress Admin area, though it may require some technical expertise to set up.

From the developer

Adam Silverstein's own description of User Admin Simplifier, lightly tidied.

Lets any Administrator simplify the WordPress Admin interface, on a per-user basis. Hide any specific menu or submenu (including in the admin bar) or hide the admin bar entirely.

Menu control modes

User Admin Simplifier offers three menu control modes:

  • Per-user only – the default mode. Configure menu, submenu, and admin bar visibility for each individual user. This is the original behavior and is unchanged.
  • Role-based only – configure menu, submenu, and admin bar visibility (and menu order) once per WordPress role. Every user inherits the settings for their role. Users with multiple roles get the union of all their roles’ settings for visibility, while menu order comes from the primary role only.
  • Role-based with per-user overrides – applies the role defaults, but lets you override each menu item per user with an Inherit / Show / Hide control.

Existing per-user configurations are preserved. Existing installs see no change unless an Administrator switches modes. Regardless of mode, the User Admin Simplifier settings page (under Tools) always remains accessible to Administrators, so you can never lock yourself out.

Development

Requirements

  • PHP 7.4 or higher
  • Composer (for managing PHP dependencies)
  • Node.js and npm (for building JavaScript assets)

Setup

  1. Clone the repository
  2. Run composer install to install PHP dependencies
  3. Run npm install to install JavaScript dependencies
  4. Run npm run build to build the React application

Code Quality

This plugin uses PHPStan for static analysis to ensure code quality and type safety.

To run PHPStan:

composer install (first time only)
npm run phpstan

Or directly with PHP:

php vendor/bin/phpstan analyse

Read the full description on the official page →

Tagged as

industry Environment & Sustainability
feature Roles & Permissions
topic Menu Admin Bar Section Roles Bar Test Hide Visibility

Alternatives

Other plugins for environmental organisations.

Speed Optimizer

Speed Optimizer

85

Boost your website performance and page speed, and increase conversions with powerful caching, frontend, media...

Free 1M+ installs 4.2★ (639)
Version Info

Version Info

85

Free memory & server IP display, PHP EOL countdown, live CPU/RAM sparklines, server location, environment...

Free 10k+ installs 5★ (15)
The Cache Purger

The Cache Purger

80

Automatically purge every server-side cache on your WordPress site — plugins, hosting environments, PHP, memor...

Free 1k+ installs 4.5★ (6)
Contextual Adminbar Color

Contextual Adminbar Color

79

Use custom admin bar colors and favicons to differentiate your environments (staging/prod)

Free 500+ installs 5★ (8)
Disable AI

Disable AI

76

Turn off unwanted AI features and notifications in plugins, themes, and WordPress Core.

Free 100+ installs 5★ (3)
Display Environment Type

Display Environment Type

74

Displays WordPress 5.5's environment type setting in the admin bar and the "At a Glance" dashbo...

Free 1k+ installs 5★ (4)