How to Remove Unused Themes from WordPress

Published On - February 8, 2025

Jonathan Dough Content
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WordPress themes are great. They let you change the look of your site with just a few clicks. But, having too many unused themes can slow down your website and create security risks.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to remove unused themes from WordPress safely. Let’s make things clean and simple!

Why Remove Unused Themes?

Keeping unnecessary themes installed is a bad habit. Here’s why you should delete them:

  • Security risks: Unused themes can become outdated, making your site vulnerable to hackers.
  • Storage space: Extra themes take up space on your hosting server.
  • Faster updates: WordPress checks for updates on all themes, even ones you don’t use.

Before You Delete a Theme

Before removing any theme, follow these steps to stay safe:

  1. Check which theme is active. You can’t delete an active theme! Switch to another theme first.
  2. Back up your site. Just in case something goes wrong, always have a backup.

Method 1: Removing a Theme via WordPress Dashboard

This is the easiest way to delete an unused theme. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Find the theme you want to delete.
  3. Click on the theme to open its details.
  4. In the bottom right corner, click Delete.
  5. Confirm, and poof! The theme is gone.

Method 2: Deleting a Theme via FTP

If you can’t access your WordPress dashboard, you can delete themes manually.

Here’s how:

  1. Connect to your website using an FTP client (like FileZilla).
  2. Navigate to wp-content/themes/.
  3. Find the folder of the theme you want to remove.
  4. Right-click and select Delete.
  5. That’s it! The theme is gone.

Method 3: Deleting a Theme via cPanel

No access to FTP? No problem! Use cPanel instead.

  1. Log in to your hosting account and open cPanel.
  2. Find and click on File Manager.
  3. Go to public_html/wp-content/themes/.
  4. Locate the theme you want to delete.
  5. Right-click and choose Delete.
  6. Done! The theme is removed.

What If You’re Not Sure Which Themes to Delete?

It’s simple! Keep only:

  • Your active theme.
  • A backup theme (like Twenty Twenty-One), in case something goes wrong.

Everything else? Time to say goodbye!

Final Thoughts

Unused themes are like old clothes you never wear. They take up space and can cause trouble. Removing them keeps your site fast and secure.

Now that you know how to delete themes in different ways, go ahead and clean up your WordPress site!