Admin notices clutter the WordPress dashboard. Plugins and themes use them to announce updates, promotions, and warnings. A single new install can trigger five or six notices at once. This guide shows you how to disable admin notices in WordPress using a free plugin, and it also covers a custom code snippet for developers who prefer not to install one more plugin.
You do not need advanced coding skills to follow this tutorial. Pick whichever method fits your comfort level, and the notices disappear within minutes.
What Are WordPress Admin Notices?
WordPress admin notices are alert boxes that appear at the top of the dashboard. Developers use them to show three types of messages:
- Update alerts — a plugin or theme needs an update
- Promotional messages — an upsell for a premium plugin version
- Error warnings — a configuration issue or a missing dependency
Some notices carry useful information. However, most site owners find them repetitive and distracting after the first few visits.
Why You Should Disable Admin Notices
Too many admin notices slow down your workflow. They push your actual content further down the screen, and they often reappear after every login. Site owners who manage multiple WordPress installs, in particular, benefit from a cleaner dashboard because it reduces visual noise and speeds up daily tasks.
Method 1: Disable Admin Notices With a Plugin (Best for Beginners)
A plugin is the safest option if you do not want to touch your theme files. Each plugin below is free, actively maintained, and available directly from the WordPress plugin repository.
1. Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications
This plugin hides all admin notices globally, or you can hide selected notices only. It also moves remaining messages into a single compact bar, so your dashboard stays organized. It separately handles plugin update alerts and WordPress core update alerts, and it can block the redirect URLs some plugins use to push ads or upsell screens after activation. Every hidden notice stays accessible from the plugin’s own dashboard, so you can restore any of them later.
Best for: site owners who want full control, plus the option to block promotional redirects.
2. Disable WP Notification
This plugin intercepts notices before they render and stores them in a temporary list instead, which you can review anytime from a bell icon in the admin bar. It also supports role-based hiding, so you can disable notices for editors or shop managers while keeping them visible for administrators.
Best for: agencies and multi-user sites that need different notice visibility per role.
3. Hide Admin Notices
This plugin takes the simplest possible approach: it hides everything, with no settings screen and no configuration required. Activate it, and every admin notice disappears immediately.
Best for: anyone who wants a true “set it and forget it” fix with zero setup.
4. Unnotifier
Unnotifier detects which plugin generated each notice and lets you disable notices individually or completely. It includes an admin bar panel that groups hidden notices by category, so nothing gets lost.
Best for: multi-plugin sites where you want to trace a notice back to its source before hiding it.
How to Install Any of These Plugins
Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
Search for the plugin name.
Click Install Now, then Activate.
Open the plugin’s settings page (usually under Settings) and choose which notices to hide.
This process takes less than two minutes, and it requires no coding at all.
Method 2: Disable Admin Notices With Custom Code
If you prefer not to add another plugin to your site, a code snippet gives you the same result without the extra overhead. Open your child theme’s functions.php file and add the following code.
function dwk_disable_admin_notices() {
global $wp_filter;
if ( is_user_admin() ) {
if ( isset( $wp_filter['user_admin_notices'] ) ) {
unset( $wp_filter['user_admin_notices'] );
}
} elseif ( isset( $wp_filter['admin_notices'] ) ) {
unset( $wp_filter['admin_notices'] );
}
if ( isset( $wp_filter['all_admin_notices'] ) ) {
unset( $wp_filter['all_admin_notices'] );
}
}
add_action( 'admin_print_scripts', 'dwk_disable_admin_notices' );
How This Code Works
The function checks whether the current screen belongs to the admin dashboard or the user dashboard. It then removes three notice hooks:
user_admin_notices— notices shown on user-facing admin screensadmin_notices— the standard notices most plugins useall_admin_notices— notices that display across every admin page
The add_action line on the final line hooks this function into admin_print_scripts, so WordPress runs it before the notices render. As a result, the notices never reach the screen.
Important Warning
This snippet removes every admin notice, including update reminders and security warnings. Consequently, you should only use this method on staging sites or on production sites you monitor closely. Always keep a backup of your functions.php file before you edit it, since a syntax error there can bring down your entire site.
Variation: Disable Admin Notices for Non-Admin Users Only
If you want to keep notices visible for administrators but hide them from editors and other roles, use this variation instead.
function dwk_hide_notices_for_non_admins() {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
remove_all_actions( 'admin_notices' );
}
}
add_action( 'admin_head', 'dwk_hide_notices_for_non_admins', 1 );
This approach works well on client sites, where editors do not need to see plugin update warnings, but the site owner still does.
Where to Add This Code If You Do Not Use a Child Theme
If you edit your active theme’s functions.php file directly, you lose the change on the next theme update. Use a free plugin like Code Snippets instead. It lets you add and manage custom PHP functions safely, without touching your theme files at all.
Best Practices Before You Disable Admin Notices
- Back up your site first. A backup protects you if the code causes a conflict.
- Use a child theme. Editing a parent theme’s
functions.phpfile means you lose your changes on the next update. - Test on staging. Confirm the snippet works before you push it to a live site.
- Review notices occasionally. Some notices flag real security or compatibility issues, so check your dashboard manually once a month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does disabling admin notices affect my site’s SEO? No. Admin notices only appear inside the logged-in WordPress dashboard. Search engines never see them, so this change has no effect on your site’s SEO.
Will this code break my plugin updates? No. The snippet hides the notice messages, but it does not stop WordPress from checking for updates in the background. You can still update plugins from the Plugins page.
Can I disable admin notices for a specific plugin only? Yes. Wrap the code in a conditional check for the current screen, using get_current_screen(), and target the specific hook that plugin uses. This requires more advanced customization than the site-wide method above.
Is it safe to hide all admin notices permanently? It is safe for most sites, but you should periodically re-enable notices to check for critical security updates. Many WordPress developers hide notices during development and re-enable them before launch.
Which plugin should I choose if I want the simplest option? Choose Hide Admin Notices. It requires no configuration and hides every notice immediately after activation.
Conclusion
Disabling admin notices in WordPress takes less than five minutes, and it gives you a cleaner, faster dashboard. Choose a plugin if you prefer a visual settings panel and zero code, or use the custom snippet if you want a lightweight, plugin-free solution. Either way, remember to keep an eye on your dashboard occasionally, since some notices do carry important security information.
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