Description
DarkMeta Dark Mode adds a lightweight dark mode toggle to the public side of your WordPress site. Visitors can choose light or dark mode, and their preference is saved in their browser for future visits.
Features
- Accessible, keyboard-friendly dark mode toggle.
- Follows a visitor’s device color scheme by default.
- Remembers manual choices using browser local storage.
- Custom dark background and text colors.
- Custom light and dark mode icons.
- Dependency-free JavaScript with no jQuery requirement.
- Respects reduced-motion preferences.
- Translation-ready settings and controls.
The plugin changes the page background, text color, and browser color scheme. Themes with highly customized component backgrounds may require additional theme CSS for a completely tailored result.
Screenshots
Installation
- Upload the plugin to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory, or install it through the WordPress Plugins screen. - Activate DarkMeta Dark Mode from the Plugins screen.
- Go to Settings > DarkMeta Dark Mode to configure the initial mode, colors, and icons.
FAQ
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Does the plugin remember a visitor’s choice?
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Yes. A manual light or dark selection is stored in that visitor’s browser using local storage. No preference data is sent to your server.
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Can it follow the visitor’s device setting?
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Yes. Choose Follow visitor device as the initial mode. A visitor’s manual choice always takes priority.
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Can I customize the colors and icons?
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Yes. Choose the dark background and text colors, then enter a character or emoji for each toggle icon on the settings page.
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Does it darken every element added by my theme or page builder?
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The plugin sets the page background, text color, and native browser color scheme. Because themes and page builders can define their own component colors, some sites may need a few additional CSS rules in the theme for a fully customized appearance.
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What happens when I deactivate or uninstall the plugin?
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Deactivation preserves your settings. Deleting the plugin through WordPress removes its saved WordPress options. Browser preferences remain local to each visitor.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“DarkMeta Dark Mode” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “DarkMeta Dark Mode” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.1.0 – 2026-08-10
- Added system color-scheme detection with live device preference updates.
- Added an initial mode setting for system, light, or dark mode.
- Added accessible toggle labels, state, keyboard focus, and reduced-motion support.
- Improved early theme application to avoid a flash of the wrong color scheme.
- Replaced the jQuery controller with dependency-free JavaScript.
- Added automatic migration of the legacy browser preference.
- Scoped admin assets to the plugin settings page.
- Added asset versioning and a direct Settings link on the Plugins screen.
- Preserved options on deactivation and added clean option removal on uninstall.
- Fixed invalid defaults, readme encoding, inaccurate feature claims, and untranslated admin labels.
1.0.2 – 2025-02-21
- Added an option to disable the frontend toggle.
1.0.1 – 2025-02-17
- Fixed minor issues and performed maintenance updates.
1.0.0
- Initial release.