You should remove inactive themes

When creating a WordPress website, multiple themes are sometimes experimented with. No problem, of course, but once you have chosen a theme to continue with, it is good practice to remove the remaining inactive themes.

Why should I remove themes that are not active?!

The themes still exist on the server. Any data stored on the server can be used by a hacker or script to gain access to your website.

And there are several reasons to remove your inactive themes

  1. Themes you are not using take up space on the server
  2. Themes can serve as hiding places for backdoors created by viruses and hackers
  3. Themes need to be updated. They are recognized by WordPress, leading to update notifications every week/month, even though you are not using them!

I remove everything I don’t need, just like in my house.

Beware of your “child” theme!

Many frameworks have a child theme associated with them. Customizations are made within the child theme, and you wouldn’t want to lose those. Therefore, make sure your website is not using a child theme before removing any themes.