WP 7.0 admin color scheme should not force Modern on existing users

thiagovelx
(@thiagovelx)

2 months ago
After updating to WordPress 7.0, existing users who had never manually changed their admin color scheme are now seeing the new “Modern” color scheme by default.

I understand that Modern may be intended as the new visual direction for WordPress, and I am not asking for it to be removed. However, automatically applying it to existing users creates a visual regression in many real-world admin dashboards.

The new blue used in links, buttons and interface elements is much more saturated and visually aggressive than the previous Fresh/default scheme. In client-managed sites, this makes the admin area feel unexpectedly different after a routine update, even though the client never opted into a new visual style.

This is especially problematic for agencies, developers and site maintainers who provide customized or conservative admin experiences. A WordPress update should not suddenly change the visual tone of the dashboard for existing users who did not explicitly choose a new palette.

My suggestion for WordPress 7.0.1:
1. Restore “Fresh” as the default/fallback admin color scheme for existing users.
2. Keep “Modern” available as an option.
3. If desired, use “Modern” only for new installations or users who explicitly opt in.
4. Avoid migrating users automatically when WordPress cannot know whether they intentionally wanted the previous default appearance.
This would preserve backward compatibility and user trust while still allowing WordPress to evolve its visual design.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Moderator threadi
(@threadi)

2 months ago

If you’d like to see changes made here, it’s best to submit a request on Core Trac. I haven’t been able to find anyone else there yet who has requested the same thing: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket

Halil
(@halilesen)

2 months ago

I agree. I was shocked when I logged into wp-admin just a moment ago. Disgraceful! And AI? Nope, I don’t want that. If WP didn’t update automatically, I probably wouldn’t have updated it on my own.

Thread Starter thiagovelx
(@thiagovelx)

2 months ago

Thanks for the guidance. I created a Core Trac ticket here:

https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/65304

The main concern is not removing Modern, but avoiding the automatic change for existing users who never explicitly opted into the new admin color scheme.

Thread Starter thiagovelx
(@thiagovelx)

2 months ago

Hi,

I created a Core Trac ticket as suggested, but it was closed as wontfix because the new default is intentional:

https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/65304

I understand that the WordPress admin will continue to evolve over time. My concern was mainly about existing users who never explicitly opted into a new admin color scheme suddenly seeing a significantly different visual style after a routine update.

Since this is considered intentional, I will handle it on my side for client-managed projects. From now on, I will add and recommend adding a small MU plugin or project-level rule to force the admin color scheme back to fresh where visual consistency and a more conservative dashboard experience are required.

That said, I still believe this kind of automatic visual change can affect perceived product stability and trust for non-technical clients, even when the change is technically intentional.
Halil
(@halilesen)

2 months ago
A solution that can be added to the functions file:
```
add_filter('admin_init', function () {
    global $_wp_admin_css_colors;

    $keep = 'fresh';

    foreach ($_wp_admin_css_colors as $key => $scheme) {
        if ($key !== $keep) {
            unset($_wp_admin_css_colors[$key]);
        }
    }
});
```
Moderator Support Moderator
(@moderator)

1 week, 1 day ago

This topic in Requests and Feedback is feedback but has devolved into a “WordPress! Bad!” blog post. Those unhelpful replies have been removed and this topic is being closed.

To re-iterate:

If you’d like to see changes made here, it’s best to submit a request on Core Trac. I haven’t been able to find anyone else there yet who has requested the same thing: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket

And a Core trac ticket was created. I am now closing this topic to new replies.