Environment Indicator adds a prominent visual indicator to the WordPress admin bar showing the current site environment. This high-visibility indicator helps prevent accidental changes on production sites by making the environment instantly recognizable to logged-in users.
Perfect for developers, agencies, and teams managing multiple environments (development, staging, production) across different sites.
Key Features
Smart Environment Detection
* Automatically detects environment using WordPress core constants (WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE)
* Supports popular hosting providers: WP Engine, Pantheon, Kinsta, Flywheel
* Legacy Bedrock constant support (WP_ENV)
* Subdomain-based heuristics (dev.example.com, staging.example.com)
* Manual override option for custom setups
Customization Options
* Custom Colors – Match your branding or personal preferences for each environment
* Custom Labels – Rename DEV/STAGING/LIVE to LOCAL, UAT, PRODUCTION, or anything you prefer
* Role-Based Visibility – Control which user roles can see the indicator (great for client sites)
Visual Enhancements
* Admin bar label (always visible)
* Full admin bar background coloring (high-visibility option)
* Browser tab prefix – instantly identify environments across multiple tabs
* Top border in wp-admin screens
* Admin footer watermark
* Dashboard widget showing environment status and system information
Export/Import
* Export settings as JSON to deploy across multiple sites
* Import settings from JSON file
* Perfect for agencies managing client sites with consistent configurations
Multisite Compatible
* Full support for WordPress multisite installations
* Network-wide settings when network-activated
* Per-site settings when activated on individual sites
How It Works
Detection runs in this order:
- WordPress core constant:
WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE - Legacy constant:
WP_ENV - Hosting provider constants (WP Engine, Pantheon, Kinsta, Flywheel)
- Subdomain patterns (dev, staging, test, qa)
- Default to LIVE if no detection
You can always override automatic detection and manually select the environment.
Perfect For
- Developers – Never accidentally deploy to the wrong environment
- Agencies – Manage multiple client sites with consistent environment indicators
- Teams – Everyone instantly knows which environment they’re working in
- Managed Hosting – Works out-of-the-box with WP Engine, Pantheon, Kinsta, and Flywheel
Zero Impact on Visitors
The indicator only displays for logged-in users. Public visitors see no performance impact or visual changes.
Development
Development of this plugin happens on GitHub: https://github.com/BSolveIT/environment-indicator
Bug reports and feature requests are welcome!
Screenshots
Settings page showing DEV environment with live preview badge and manual detection mode
Settings page with automatic detection enabled showing LIVE environment via subdomain detection
Dashboard widget displaying environment status, detection method, site URL, and system versions
Customization options with custom labels and custom colors enabled, plus color pickers
Settings page showing STAGING environment with orange admin bar background coloring
Visual enhancements toggles and role-based visibility settings with user role selection