If you’re using WordPress to manage your website, you may eventually want to delete one of the themes you’ve installed. Maybe you’ve found a new theme that you like better, or perhaps you’re simply cleaning up your collection of themes. In either case, deleting a WordPress theme is a straightforward process.

Why You Should Delete Unused WordPress Themes

There are several reasons why you should delete unused WordPress themes installed on your blog. The main reason is that they can slow down your loading times and affect your site’s performance. In addition, security is another big reason to remove old themes and plugins. If a theme is no longer supported or maintained, it could leave your site vulnerable to attack. From a security standpoint, it’s always best to delete unused WordPress themes and plugins.

When You Should Keep Deactivated WordPress themes

When you deactivate a WordPress theme, it is no longer visible on your website. However, the files for that theme still remain on your server. This means that if you later decide to reactivate the theme, all your settings will still be in place. There are a few reasons why you might want to keep deactivated WordPress themes on your site. For example, you may want to keep a backup of the theme in case you need to revert to it later. Or, you may want to keep a copy of the theme so that you can test it out on a staging site before making any changes to your live site. Whatever your reason for keeping deactivated WordPress themes, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that the themes are properly maintained and secured. 

How to Deactivate a WordPress Theme

Go to the Themes page in your WordPress Dashboard. Locate the theme you want to deactivate and click the Activate link below it. A pop-up window will appear, asking you to confirm your decision. Click Yes, Deactivate to confirm.

Should I Delete Unused Wordpress Themes

Security is the main reason you should remove old themes and plugins. From a security standpoint, a malicious individual could find an unpatched vulnerability in an old theme or plugin and use it to take over your site. By removing unused themes and plugins, you can reduce the number of potential attack vectors on your site.

In addition to security concerns, deleting unused themes and plugins can also help improve performance. All data from an inactive theme is still stored in your database, even if you’re not using it. This can bloat your database and slow down performance. Deleting unused themes and plugins can help improve database performance by reducing the amount of data that needs to be processed.

Methods to Remove a WordPress Theme

There are multiple ways to delete a WordPress theme. The easiest and the recommended way to delete a WordPress theme is by using the dashboard. Navigate to your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance > Themes. Find the theme you want to delete and click on Delete. Alternatively, you can also delete a WordPress theme by using an FTP client or through cPanel.

How to Delete Your WordPress Theme from WordPress Admin

If you’re ready to say goodbye to your current WordPress theme, follow these steps to delete it. First, log into your WordPress dashboard. Next, go to the Appearance > Themes page. Find the theme you want to delete in the list of installed themes and click the Delete link. Confirm that you want to delete the theme, and it will be removed from your WordPress site.

In Conclusion

WordPress themes may not seem harmful, however, as this blog has mentioned, they can actually be a security risk. Not to mention, they take up valuable storage space which can impact the cost and performance of your website. Always be sure that you’re not deleting an active theme, and make a backup before deleting any theme files to be safe.

Deleting a WordPress theme is a straightforward process. You can either delete the theme through your WordPress account, or by using an FTP client. If you have any further questions about deleting a WordPress theme, feel free to contact our support team.