How to Delete a Theme in WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide

Cleaning up idle or old themes in the background of your WordPress site is a good idea when you have them. It is essential to know how to delete themes in WordPress so as to improve security and minimize clutter and chaos in your site. When experimenting with designs, most site owners install as many themes as they can, which may end up being a needless risk in the long term.

This blog will guide you through a step-by-step process how to delete a theme in WordPress in a simple, safe way, without leaving your site in ruins. The instructions are pretty simple to follow even in case you are a novice or have been using several websites.

Why You Should Delete Unused WordPress Themes?

It is only then that we should find out why it is essential to delete idle themes.

Unused themes can:

• Establish security risks.
• Take up server space.
• Slow down backups
• Bring confusion when maintaining.

Although inactive themes do not affect the appearance of your site, they are present in your WordPress installation and can be exploited if outdated.

Things to Check Before Deleting a Theme

It is safe to delete a theme, and before doing so you need to check a couple of things.

Make sure that:

• The theme is not active
• It is not being used as a parent theme.
• You have a backup of your site.

Always do not delete the theme that is in use. WordPress has one or more themes installed.

How to Delete Theme in WordPress (From Dashboard)

It is the simplest and most widespread way.

Step 1: Log in to WordPress Admin

Visit your website in its administrative panel by going to: yourwebsite.com/wp-admin

Step 2: Navigate to Themes

From the left menu, click: Appearance → Themes

You will get all the installed themes, including active and inactive ones.

Step 3: Select the Theme You Want to Delete

Pass the cursor over the theme you desire to delete and click on theme details.

Step 4: Click Delete

On the right-hand side of the bottom-right corner, there is a Delete button, which you should confirm.

How to Delete a WordPress Theme Using FTP?

If you cannot remove any theme through the WordPress dashboard, the surest option is to use FTP. This comes in particularly handy when your administrative panel is not available, when the delete button is not present, or when a theme is throwing errors on your site.

FTP provides you with direct access to your files on the website, hence you can delete the theme manually.

Step 1: Get Your FTP Login Details

The first thing is FTP credentials. they are generally located in your hosting control panel or welcome email of your hosting company. You’ll need:

• FTP host (server address)
• Username
• Password
• Port number (usually 21)
• If you don’t have these details, call your hosting support team.

Step 2: Connect to Your Website Using an FTP Client

Get an FTP client, such as FileZilla. Install the application and provide the FTP credentials. After connecting, you will see two panels:

• Left panel: My computer files.
• Right panel: The files of your website

You will be working on the right panel.

Step 3: Navigate to the Themes Directory

Path in the panel of files of the site:
public_html → wp-content → themes

All themes that are installed in your WordPress site are in this folder which includes both active and inactive themes.

Step 4: Select the Theme You would like to delete

Themes have their own folders, which are usually named after the theme itself. Identify the theme to be removed carefully.

Note: A parent theme or an active theme that is used by a child theme should not be deleted.
Before you know what theme is operational, refer to the WordPress dashboard initially.

Step 5: Delete the Theme Folder

Click on the theme folder you wish to delete and right-click it to delete. The FTP client will require confirmation. Accept the deletion of the theme files permanently as they are on your server.

Deletion can take a few seconds, depending on the theme’s size.

Step 6: Check Theme Removal in WordPress.

After deleting the folder, go back to your WordPress dashboard. Select Appearance, then Theme, and ensure that the theme that had been deleted is no longer visible in the list.

After everything is okay and your site loads right, then the process is over.

How to Delete a Theme Using a Hosting Control Panel?

Most hosting companies provide a file manager.

Steps:

• Enter your hosting account.
• Open File Manager
• Navigate to public_html/wp-content/themes.
• Erase the unwanted theme folder.

The technique is fast and does not necessitate additional programs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Deleting Themes

Many beginners accidentally make these mistakes:

• Deleting the active theme
• Uninstall a child theme which was installed by a parent theme.
• Failure to maintain at least one default WordPress theme.
• Deleting without a backup

In case of doubt, you always need to change to a different theme then proceed to delete.

How to Delete the Theme in WordPress Without Breaking Your Site?

In order to work safely with how to delete the theme in WordPress, one has to follow the following simple rule:

You must turn another theme on first, and ensure that your site is operating correctly, and then get rid of the theme that you are not using. This would provide no downtime and prevent any unforeseen mishaps.

Should You Retain the Default WordPress Themes?

Yes. It is suggested that one default WordPress theme (such as Twenty Twenty-Four) should be maintained.
Why?

• It acts as a fallback.
• Assistance in troubleshooting.
• Comes in handy when your principal theme fails.

Only get rid of those themes that you are sure you will never use again.

How Often Should You Clean Up WordPress Themes?

It is a good practice to check the installed themes periodically, within a few months.

Best practice:

• Keep 1 active theme
• Retain 1 default WordPress theme.
• Delete everything else

This will maintain a clean and safe WordPress installation.

Conclusion

Knowing how to delete a theme in WordPress is a minor yet significant issue when maintaining the website. To enhance your site, deleting unused themes improves security, reduces clutter, and makes it run more efficiently.

After removing themes, clearing your WordPress cache also helps ensure that your site shows the latest changes instead of loading outdated files.

The system is easy, regardless of whether you are using the WordPress dashboard, your FTP, or your hosting file manager, when done properly.

It is a good idea to check the themes you have installed regularly and remove those you do not require. A clean WordPress environment is less complicated, safer, and more professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you delete the current WordPress theme?

No. Before you can delete the theme you are using, you have to activate another one first. WordPress always needs one active theme.

2. Will deleting a theme affect my website content?

No. When a theme is deleted, it does not delete posts, pages and media. It only removes design files.

3. What will happen if we delete a parent theme?

Your site can break down if one of your child themes relies on it. Parent themes should not be deleted without checking.

4. Can we safely delete unused themes?

Yes. It is advisable to remove unused themes to enhance security and performance.