Want to delete a WordPress theme of your website?
Although installing WordPress themes Until you find the right one is common practice, keeping your theme directory organized by deleting the ones you are not currently using is highly recommended by WordPress experts.
There are several ways to delete a theme in WordPress: via the WordPress dashboard, FTP and more. This article will explain to you the first 2 methods as well as their respective steps to follow to get there. We will also help you decide which WordPress themes you should keep and which ones to delete.
But before, if you have never installed WordPress discover How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog
Then back to why we are here.
Delete a WordPress theme via the admin dashboard
Deleting a theme through the WordPress dashboard is the easiest way. The only requirement is to have administrator privileges which allow you to access and delete WordPress themes installed on your website.
Here's how to proceed:
- Access to Appearence -> Themes: from the main menu of your WordPress dashboard.
- Le premier WordPress theme listed in the directory is your active theme. Hover over the inactive theme you want to remove and click Theme details.
- A pop-up window will appear, detailing the chosen theme. Click on the option Remove in the lower right corner of the window.
- A warning popup will appear asking for confirmation. Click on OK to delete the WordPress theme of your setup.
Pro tip
If you want to delete your active WordPress theme, you must first activate another theme.
Delete a WordPress theme via FTP
Users who do not have access to the WordPress admin dashboard can use a FTP client to access website files from a remote computer.
The File Transfer Protocol method also works to resolve the message error "Deletion failed, the requested theme does not exist ". This error message appears when the initial removal process fails to remove all WordPress theme files from your website.
After having established an FTP connection, follow these steps to remove a WordPress theme from your website:
- Access the folder wp-content in your root directory and navigate to the folder themes.
- Find the theme you want to delete in this folder. Right click on it and select Remove.
- A popup will appear asking for confirmation. Click on the button OK to remove the theme from your WordPress installation.
When to delete a WordPress theme
Having too much WordPress themes unused is not healthy for a website. Too many theme files could slow down your website's performance and consume your storage space.
Also, inactive WordPress themes are probably outdated. A lack of updates can lead to security vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.
Here are some pointers on when it makes sense to remove a WordPress theme from your website:
- You have activated a new theme.
- The WordPress theme installed for testing purposes is not suitable for your needs.
- It's an old WordPress theme that you don't need.
- The WordPress theme development team no longer releases updates or provides support.
When to keep a WordPress theme
Although deleting old themes can improve your website's performance, there are times when they are still needed.
If you are on a WordPress multisite network, you cannot delete themes that are currently active on another subsite. In some cases, webmasters use free WordPress themes for testing purposes so that deleting them cannot cause errors.
Therefore, we recommend that you first check with other users in your network before deleting a WordPress theme.
You should also avoid deleting an unused parent WordPress theme if you are currently using its Child theme.
There's nothing wrong with experimenting with different WordPress themes before making a choice. However, deleting the ones you no longer use will benefit the performance and security of your WordPress website in the long run.
Other recommended resources
We also invite you to consult the resources below to take more ownership and control of your website and blog.
- How to Create a Simple Gutenberg Block WordPress Plugin
- How to Add Custom Fonts to a WordPress Website
- How to create custom templates on WordPress
- Using different backgrounds WordPress
Conclusion
That's it for this guide that shows you how to delete a WordPress theme. If you have any concerns or suggestions, please let us know within Comments.
However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation or the one on Divi: the best WordPress theme of all time.
Waiting, share this article on your different social networks.
...
