Over the years, I have seen many WordPress websites of clients, with unused plugins just sitting there inactive. While plugins can certainly enhance a WordPress website’s features and functionalities, having too many, particularly those that are inactive, can be problematic.
How Plugins Affect Website Performance
Plugins can influence how quickly your website pages load. The more plugins you have installed, the more scripts and features the browser has to load. This can slow down your website quite a bit. According to Google, a delay of just one second can result in higher bounce rates, which of course, hurts user engagement and conversions.
For example, one website owner saw that its checkout process became sluggish after installing a lot of plugins, many of which, turned out to be unnecessary. When those plugins were removed, their website’s page loading performance improved. As a result, conversions also improved. Thus, faster loading website pages, translates to better results.
Security Risks of Unused Plugins
If you still keep old, inactive (deactivated) WordPress plugins, this can potentially create an increased security risk, making them vulnerable to hackers. This is particularly true when those plugins have not been updated to their latest versions. Thus, removing unused plugins can keep your website safer by making it less vulnerable to hacking.
Benefits of Deleting Plugins
Getting rid of WordPress plugins that you really do not need, and/or no longer use, has a number of benefits, including:
- Faster load times, improving user experience.
- Improved security, mitigating threats from hackers.
- Less clutter, making website management simpler.
Thus, removing inactive plugins makes your website run faster, cleaner and more secure.
Potential Drawbacks of Deleting Plugins
Of course, there may be some downsides to removing plugins from your WordPress website, such as:
- Loss in enhanced website functionality, that could otherwise improve conversions.
- Website errors resulting from a plugin that may be necessary for a particular custom WordPress theme to run correctly.
Before deleting any plugin, confirm what each plugin does and whether it may be needed now, or later.
How to Determine Which WordPress Plugins to Delete
It may be a good idea to begin looking for plugins that have not been used in months. If this is the case, then it should be a candidate for removal.
Setting up a regular schedule to review your plugins, perhaps quarterly, can help boost your website’s performance while keeping it safer.
How to Delete Plugins
Unsure how to safely delete your WordPress plugins? I have put together these steps to show you how.
- Back up your website. There are free plugins that can help you to accomplish this.
- Deactivate the plugin and then check whether it causes any issues with your website.
- If everything looks good, delete the plugin.
- After plugin deletion/removal, test your website’s functionality.
This process can help to avoid unpleasant surprises and keep your website working smoothly.
What to Do If You Delete a Plugin and there is a Problem?
In the event that you delete a plugin that causes a problem with your WordPress website, you can always try to reinstall that plugin. If that is not possible because the issue caused by deleting the plugin prevents you from accessing your WP dashboard, you should contact the web developer who built your website, or you can contact Prominent Web Design.
Best Practices for Plugin Management and Optimization
Do Regular Plugin Audits
Make it a habit to review your plugins. Every few months, check for updates, inactive plugins, or outdated features.
Choose the Right Plugins
Pick plugins with good reviews, a lot of active users, regular updates and good support. Limit yourself to essential tools, more is not always better. Focus on quality over quantity to keep your website fast and secure.
Automate Plugin Updates
Set up automatic updates for trusted plugins. Schedule regular updates to prevent vulnerabilities. Staying on top of maintenance saves time and avoids headaches later.
Industry Recommendations
I think that most website security professionals would agree that leaving unused plugins can be risky. In fact, even WordPress.org, recommends that inactive plugins be removed.
So, should you delete unused/inactive WordPress plugins from your website? That is ultimately your decision, but there are a number of good reasons to do so, in addition to many industry experts recommending to do so.
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