Why I Built Hide Admin Bar Pro — Solving a WordPress UX Problem for 30,000+ Sites

If you’ve ever handed over a WordPress site to a client, created a membership or LMS platform, or managed user access — you’ve likely dealt with the admin bar.

The problem? It’s either too helpful or too intrusive. And the internet’s solutions were too hacky or too bloated. So I built my own — lightweight, modular, and deeply focused.

Here’s the story behind Hide Admin Bar Pro, a tool now powering over 30,000 sites.

The Real Problem That Sparked It

Back when I worked with client sites and membership platforms, I’d often hear things like:

“Why is this bar showing up on the homepage?”
“I accidentally clicked ‘Customize’ and broke something.”
“This is confusing. What’s the top bar even for?”

I tried:

  • Theme functions hacks
  • Capability checks
  • Even full dashboard replacement plugins

But they all had trade-offs — performance hits, broken layouts, or way too many features I didn’t need.


What I Decided to Build Instead

I wanted:

  • A plugin focused only on admin bar visibility
  • Role-based, capability-based, guest-aware logic
  • No CSS hacks — real, conditional logic
  • A clean UX, with frontend/backend and device-based visibility
  • Something that even agencies could trust for handoff sites

So I built Hide Admin Bar — and eventually Pro as a paid upgrade.


Why I Decided to Keep It Focused

There are many dashboard/UI plugins out there that bundle 50+ features.

But I didn’t want that.

I wanted:

  • Modular code
  • Seamless Freemius upgrade path
  • No “role editor” bloat
  • No custom theme styling
  • Just pure control over when and where the toolbar appears

What the Pro Version Adds

Once the free version started growing, I kept getting user requests:

  • “Can I hide it only on mobile?”
  • “What if I want to auto-hide it after 3 seconds?”
  • “Can I override for just one user?”
  • “Can I export/import my settings?”

And so, Hide Admin Bar Pro was born. It now includes:

  • Auto-hide after delay
  • Device-based visibility
  • Page/URL logic
  • Per-user override
  • Time-based rules
  • Redirects
  • Import/export

Everything focused around admin bar visibility — and nothing else.


Built with Devs, Clients, and UX in Mind

Whether you’re:

  • Handing off a site
  • Running a LMS
  • Managing clients or teams
  • Or just trying to simplify WordPress

…Hide Admin Bar Pro gives you the control you’ve probably wanted all along.


Try It Yourself

I’m proud to say this plugin now powers 30,000+ WordPress sites — and it continues to grow.

🆓 Free version: Hide Admin Bar – WordPress.org
💼 Pro version: creovity.agency/plugins/hide-admin-bar/pro