How to Uninstall and Delete a WordPress Theme (Step by Step)

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Are you looking to delete a WordPress theme but are concerned about its possibility of being unsafe?

If you recently changed to a WordPress theme, it is possible to remove the previous theme. You may have a few other WordPress themes pre-installed on your website, which might be removed.

In this article, we’ll discuss why you should delete an existing WordPress theme without harming your site.

Table of Contents

Why Delete a WordPress Theme?

Removing the theme from your site is suggested if you do not use a WordPress theme. There are several reasons to delete unneeded WordPress themes.

WordPress themes are created in PHP and can disguise malware or malicious code within your website (that is if your site has been damaged). In some cases, rogue developers may conceal backdoors within themes they are not used to.
Installing them on your server will increase your storage capacity, and your WordPress security plugin will take longer to check.
You’ll also receive updates on these themes, even though you’re not using them.

Many users have installed WordPress themes on live sites to try the themes. It’s not the most effective method to try out the functionality of a WordPress theme.

We suggest using a test website or local WordPress installation to conduct most of your testing. So it won’t impact your website’s functionality and gives you the ability to provide the same experience to the users of your site.

What is the difference between uninstalling or deleting a WordPress theme?

WordPress lets you use one theme as your current theme. But you can install as many theme options as you like on your site.

The themes won’t be in use, but they’re still on your site, and you’ll receive regular updates.

To completely remove the WordPress theme, it is necessary to remove the theme. It will erase the theme’s files from your site.

Is it safe to remove older WordPress themes?

Yes, you can delete any WordPress theme you’re not employing safely.

Every WordPress website must have at minimum one theme to work correctly. It is the theme WordPress uses to showcase your site.

You can check the WordPress theme you’re currently using by going to Appearance >> Themes . Your theme currently used will be displayed in the ‘Active’ category.

It is also recommended to keep the primary WordPress theme (e.g. Generate Press) to be installed on your website. It serves as the backup theme if your existing theme doesn’t work.

If your theme currently has a child theme, it is also necessary to maintain the theme you are using as a parent running on your site.

You may remove any other theme installed on your site besides these.

So, let us walk you through how you can delete WordPress themes.

Preparing Before Deleting a WordPress Theme

If you’ve customized the look of a WordPress theme and want to keep those modifications in place before deletion, you can create a complete WordPress backup.

Then, you can transfer the theme file to your PC to back up.

It is possible to do this for this; you can use an FTP client or the File Manager app in your WordPress hosting dashboard. After you have connected, visit the folder /wp-content/themes/ and download the inactive theme directory to your personal computer.

You can remove the old theme when you’ve safely backed up.

Deleting a WordPress Theme

There are many options to get rid of a WordPress theme. The easiest method is first.

Deleting the WordPress theme through the administrator dashboard

It is the simplest and most recommended method to remove the WordPress theme.

The first step is to visit Appearance->> Themes and select the theme you wish to remove.

WordPress can now display information about your theme in a popup window. It is necessary to hit the delete button in the lower right-hand corner of the popup display.

After that, you must confirm that you wish to remove the theme. Click OK to complete the process, and WordPress will remove your chosen theme.

The delete of a WordPress theme using FTP

This technique is somewhat sophisticated. However, it can help if you cannot log into the WordPress administration area.

Connect to your WordPress website using an FTP client. Then navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ folder.

You must identify the theme folder you wish to remove. Click on it with a right-click and select delete.

The FTP client will then erase the theme you have selected.

You can delete a WordPress theme by using the File Manager

If you’re uncomfortable with the FTP client, it is possible to use File Manager. It is a File Manager app in your web hosting control panel.

In this case, we’ll show screenshots of hostinger’s hosting dashboard. Depending on your hosting provider, your dashboard may look slightly different.

File app will open the File Manager, allowing you to explore your server’s content as with any FTP client. You must go to the /public_html/wp-content/themes/ folder.

Next you required to right click and delete WordPress theme by using the files manager

After that, all you have to do is to remove the theme you wish to remove. Then, you can delete the theme, and that’s it.

What to Do If You Accidentally Delete a WordPress Theme?

If you’ve accidentally deleted a WordPress theme, there are many ways to reinstall it.

The first step is to make the site back up using the backup. It is simple, as many WordPress backup plugins enable users to restore their website to its earlier state swiftly.

But, if you failed to take a backup of your theme, you can recover the theme using a download and installing a new copy.

The disadvantage of this option is that you’d be unable to modify the template.

This article should have taught you how to remove a WordPress theme easily.