Story: admin4, the administration design
This page is for journalists and creators who cover user interfaces. admin4 is the newest of Exponential's administration designs, added on 2 October 2026 in the 6.0.15 line.
Contents
- The story in one paragraph
- What is new, and when
- Facts you can print
- What not to claim
- Angles and headline ideas
- Who to ask
The story in one paragraph
admin4 is "a complete administration design in the look of the setup wizard, with a light and a dark mode" (The admin4 design). It brings every template the administration needs into one design, so it works without the older ones. Users switch between light, dark and "system", which follows the operating system; the choice follows the user from browser to browser. Printed pages show only the content, in light colors. It uses system fonts only, downloads none, and its styles live in shared stylesheets with color tokens that tests check for contrast in light and dark mode.
What is new, and when
| What | When | Source |
|---|---|---|
| admin3, a responsive administration design | 22 August 2024 | August 2024 |
| admin4 added | 2 October 2026 | The admin4 design |
| jQuery 4 in the administration, YUI removed | 1 and 2 October 2026 | Story: jQuery 4 and the end of YUI |
Facts you can print
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| Light, dark and system color modes; the choice is remembered per user | The admin4 design, What you get |
| Printed pages: content only, always light | same |
| One typeface from system fonts; nothing downloaded | same |
| Keyboard use and landmarks are documented | Keyboard, Landmarks and names |
| Contrast of the color tokens tested in light and dark; targets at least 24 by 24 pixels | Languages and accessibility |
| No inline styles in administration templates, so a strict Content Security Policy can be enforced | Story: the Content Security Policy |
| Switching is a setting of the admin siteaccess | Switch to it |
What not to claim
| Do not say | Say instead |
|---|---|
| "WCAG certified" | "Follows WCAG rules that tests check" |
| "The only admin" | One of several designs; others remain (classic admin, admin3, AdminUI) |
| "Released in 6.0.14" or a release date | In the 6.0.15 line; "released" only once the tag v6.0.15 exists |
Angles and headline ideas
- "A CMS developed since 1999 gets dark mode, and tests its contrast."
- "No fonts downloaded, no inline styles: an admin built for strict security."
Who to ask
7x (Press contacts). Screenshots: take your own in both modes (Taking your own screenshots).
Related pages
- Story: accessibility
- Story: AdminUI
- The admin tour
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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