Hello Dolly

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Hello Dolly

by Matt Mullenweg

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Description

This is not just a plugin, it symbolizes the hope and enthusiasm of an entire generation summed up in two words sung most famously by Louis Armstrong: Hello, Dolly. When activated you will randomly see a lyric from Hello, Dolly in the upper right of your admin screen on every page.

Thanks to Sanjib Ahmad for the artwork.

A plugin that’s not only a nuisance but also a bother

By yumayuma34 on July 27, 2026

It’s pointless and a nuisance; I wish it would just disappear already…
I’m Japanese, but when I saw this, I wasn’t sure at first if it was okay to delete it. It shouldn’t be included by default.

(I’m using an automatic translator, so I apologize if the meaning comes across differently.)

A tribute to the plugin that started it all

By mikelane on February 11, 2026

This standalone PHP script delivers the classic Hello Dolly lyrics.
It’s the classic Hello Dolly, one file, no plugin, pure tribute to the legend.


<?php
/**
 * Hello Dolly - Minimalist Standalone with Fade-in
 */

function hello_dolly_get_lyric() {
    $lyrics = "Hello, Dolly
Well, hello, Dolly
It's so nice to have you back where you belong
You're lookin' swell, Dolly
I can tell, Dolly
You're still glowin', you're still crowin'
You're still goin' strong
We feel the room swayin'
While the band's playin'
One of your old favourite songs from way back when
So, take her wrap, fellas
Find her an empty lap, fella
Dolly'll never go away again
Hello, Dolly
Well, hello, Dolly
It's so nice to have you back where you belong
You're lookin' swell, Dolly
I can tell, Dolly
You're still glowin', you're still crowin'
You're still goin' strong
We feel the room swayin'
While the band's playin'
One of your old favourite songs from way back when
Golly, gee, fellas
Find her a vacant knee, fellas
Dolly'll never go away
Dolly'll never go away
Dolly'll never go away again";

    $lyrics = explode("\n", $lyrics);
    return htmlspecialchars(trim($lyrics[mt_rand(0, count($lyrics) - 1)]));
}

$chosen = hello_dolly_get_lyric();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Hello Dolly</title>
    <style>
        body {
            display: flex;
            justify-content: center;
            align-items: center;
            height: 100vh;
            margin: 0;
            background-color: #fafafa;
            font-family: serif;
            color: #333;
        }

        #dolly {
            font-size: 2rem;
            text-align: center;
            padding: 0 20px;
            opacity: 0;
            animation: fadeIn 2s ease-in forwards;
        }

        @keyframes fadeIn {
            from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(10px); }
            to { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
        }

        .refresh-hint {
            position: fixed;
            bottom: 20px;
            font-family: sans-serif;
            font-size: 0.8rem;
            color: #999;
            text-decoration: none;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>

    <div id="dolly">
        <?php echo $chosen; ?>
    </div>

    <a href="?" class="refresh-hint">Refresh for more lyrics</a>

</body>
</html>

A Classic Piece of WordPress History

By shadowheezy on October 21, 2025

Hello Dolly might be simple, but it’s iconic. Every time I open my WordPress dashboard and see a lyric from Louis Armstrong’s “Hello, Dolly!” it’s a small reminder of WordPress’s roots — creativity, simplicity, and a touch of joy.

It doesn’t do much, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s a little piece of nostalgia that connects every WordPress user to the spirit of open-source community and fun. Thanks for keeping this classic alive!

“Easy to install, worked perfectly. Helped me learn WordPress plugin structur

By manideep makkina (manideep42) on July 22, 2025

“Easy to install, worked perfectly. Helped me learn WordPress plugin structure

Re-added this plugin

By TapSuccess (tapsuccess) on May 13, 2025

In the past, I have deleted this plugin. Now I am learning how to make plugins…. I like it! Thanks, Matt

Nice Biolerplate code plugin

By dimkiriakos on August 18, 2024

Even many people give a lot of hate to this plugin, they should not! This plugin is not something that it’s useful your site operations, but it’s a nice boilerplate for people that they want to start building plugins for WordPress. It shows that you don’t need to write so much code to customize something in your WordPress app. It introduces the wptexturize function the get_user_locale, the admin_notices action hook and the admin_head action hook too. Yes it’s not the mode elegant thing that comes. But it can be educational for beginners

My site was hacked. Found this was added

By foreverozone on October 12, 2025

My WP account was hacked. Deleted. Found this was added to my website.

Not funny to me.

what a wonderful world!

By duca22446688 on May 13, 2024

what a wonderful world!

OG plugin for OG wp designers and developers

By strahoten on May 6, 2024

naysayers cannot optimise web sites

Bloatware

By stevenblakesley on October 12, 2025

Why is this a default plugin on Godaddy and other wordpress installs?