Disable / Remove the WordPress Admin Bar

If you use WordPress for your website or blog you may have noticed a new admin bar is now appearing on your site when you’re logged into WordPress. This new WordPress admin bar was added part of the latest WordPress update and is enabled by default. I can see how this admin bar could be useful for making quick changes or updates to your site without having to go through the WordPress Dashboard, but personally I find it a bit annoying. Want to remove the admin bar? No problem! In this article I’ll show you an couple of easy ways how to disable the WordPress admin bar from your site.

What is the WordPress Admin Bar?

The WordPress admin bar is a bar that appears on your actual website (not the WordPress dashboard), but only if you are logged into WordPress. It shows up on the top of your site and looks like this:

You don’t have to worry about your visitors seeing this admin bar (unless for some reason they also have a WordPress account for your site). However, some WordPress users, such as myself, don’t really want to see this admin bar. If you’re like me and want to disable it, below are a few ways you can do so.

Disable the WordPress Admin Bar through User Settings

If you don’t want to disable the admin bar for all WordPress users of your site you can simply update your individual user settings through the WordPress Dashboard. To do this, login to WordPress and go to the Dashboard -> Users -> Profile. On the Profile page look for the option that says “Show Admin Bar”. Uncheck the box for “when viewing site” and the admin bar will no longer be displayed when you’re logged in with the account you just updated the settings for.

Disable the WordPress Admin Bar Completely

Want to disable the WordPress admin bar completely for all users? You can do this simply by entering the following code into your functions.php file (don’t forget to backup your WP database before making any modifications just to be safe):

/* Disable the WordPress Admin Bar. */
add_filter( 'show_admin_bar', '__return_false' );

Save your functions.php file and the WordPress admin bar will now be disabled completely.

Use a Plugin to Disable the WordPress Admin Bar

If you can’t, or prefer not to, modify your functions.php you can remove the WordPress admin bar using a free plugin. There’s an couple of easy plugins, Admin Bar Removal and Disable Admin Bar that will do the trick. Just install this plugin, activate it, and the WordPress admin bar will now be disabled completely.

Summary

In summary, the new WordPress admin bar (which was added as part of the latest update) is easy to disable if you don’t like it. You can remove it through individual user settings, by modifying your functions.php file with the code above, or by using a plugin.

What are your thoughts on the new admin bar? Are you planning on keeping it or disabling it? Let me know in the comments below!