How to Deactivate a Theme in WordPress

If switching themes doesn’t fix it

That’s a strong signal the problem isn’t the theme. In real cases it’s often a plugin conflict, PHP compatibility issue, or cached/minified assets breaking the admin UI.

Next recovery steps

Disable plugins without wp-admin, check debug.log/server logs, confirm PHP version support, and temporarily remove caching/minification layers until the error becomes explicit.

If you’re here, you’re usually in one of these situations: you want to switch themes safely, your site is throwing a critical error, or you can’t access wp-admin and you need to recover the site by disabling the active theme.

One quick clarification before we start: people often use “deactivate”, “remove”, and “delete” interchangeably—but in WordPress they can mean different things. This guide covers all of them, with the exact methods you need depending on whether your site is working or broken.

Deactivate vs Remove vs Delete: what’s the difference?

WordPress always needs one active theme. So you can’t “deactivate” a theme and have no theme running—deactivating usually means activating a different theme. Removing/deleting means removing the theme files from your server.

Important: You can’t delete the currently active theme from the dashboard. You must switch to a different theme first.

Before you change anything (quick safety checklist)

• If the site is live, take a quick backup (at least database + wp-content).
• Clarify the goal: are you recovering a broken site or just cleaning up unused themes?
• Expect layout changes when switching themes (menus, widgets, builders, CSS).
• Make sure you have at least one fallback theme installed (a default Twenty* theme is ideal).

Method 1: Deactivate (switch) theme from the WordPress dashboard

Use this method if you can access wp-admin. This is the cleanest way to “deactivate” the current theme.

1. Go to Appearance → Themes
2. Find the theme you want to switch to
3. Click Activate

If your goal is debugging/recovery, activate a default theme like Twenty Twenty-Four (or whichever Twenty* theme you have installed). It’s lightweight, stable, and helps you isolate whether the issue is theme-related.

If you don’t see a default theme installed

Install one first (Appearance → Themes → Add New). Having a default theme available is a best practice on production sites—when something breaks, you want a reliable fallback.

Method 2: Remove (delete) a theme from the WordPress dashboard

If you’re trying to remove/delete a WordPress theme, the dashboard can do it—as long as the theme is not active.

1. Go to Appearance → Themes
2. Click the theme you want to remove (Theme Details)
3. Click Delete (bottom-right in many installs)
4. Confirm

Developer tip: If you don’t see a “Delete” option, it’s often due to hosting permissions, file ownership, or a security policy. In that case, use FTP/SFTP (Method 4).

Also: If the theme you want to delete is a parent theme required by a child theme you still use, don’t delete it. A child theme depends on its parent.

Method 3: Deactivate a theme via FTP (when you can’t access wp-admin)

This is the method you use when WordPress is down (white screen, critical error) and you need to force a theme fallback. It’s also the fastest recovery move in real incidents.

Option A: Rename the active theme folder (fastest)

1. Connect via FTP/SFTP to your server
2. Go to wp-content/themes/
3. Find the folder of the currently active theme (e.g. mytheme)
4. Rename it to something like mytheme.disabled
5. Reload your website

When WordPress can’t find the active theme folder, it will try to fall back to another installed theme (often a default Twenty* theme). If no fallback is available, you may see a “theme missing” message—so it’s worth keeping at least one default theme installed.

Option B: Temporarily move the theme folder out

Same idea, but instead of renaming, you move it to a temporary folder (e.g. wp-content/themes-disabled/). Renaming is usually faster and safer because you can revert instantly.

How do I know which theme is active?

If you can’t check wp-admin, you can confirm it from the database (Method 5) by checking the active theme slug. Many production sites use a custom theme folder name that matches the theme slug in deployment.

Method 4: Remove (delete) a theme via FTP/SFTP

If you want to remove a theme from WordPress and the dashboard delete button is missing or blocked, FTP/SFTP is the reliable method.

1. Connect via FTP/SFTP
2. Go to wp-content/themes/
3. Make sure the theme is not active
4. Delete the theme folder (or download it first if you want a backup)

Important: Don’t delete a parent theme if your active theme is a child theme that depends on it. And don’t delete a theme that’s currently active (switch first).

Security note: Removing unused themes is not just “cleanup”. Outdated themes can be a security risk, even if they’re not active.

Method 5: Switch the active theme from the database (phpMyAdmin / Adminer)

Use this if FTP is not possible or you want a clean, explicit switch. WordPress stores the active theme in the options table.

You’re looking for two option names (in most setups):

• template
• stylesheet

Both values usually contain the theme folder name (slug). To switch themes, update both values to a known installed theme folder (for example twentytwentyfour).

Step-by-step

1. Open phpMyAdmin (or Adminer) from your hosting panel
2. Select your WordPress database
3. Open the wp_options table (prefix may be different)
4. Search for template and stylesheet
5. Change both values to an installed theme folder name (e.g. twentytwentyfour)
6. Save changes and reload the site

Developer note: If you use a custom table prefix, it won’t be wp_options. It could be abc123_options. Same concept.

What happens when you deactivate or remove a WordPress theme?

Your content (posts, pages, media) stays in the database. What changes is the presentation layer. Typical side effects when switching themes:

• Menus may need to be re-assigned (theme locations differ)
• Widgets / sidebar areas can move or reset
• Theme-specific options and Customizer settings won’t apply
• Page builder layouts might look different depending on theme CSS
• Shortcodes from theme components may render as plain text

When you remove/delete a theme, you’re deleting files. If you later want to use it again, you’ll need to reinstall it.

Troubleshooting: if the site is still broken after switching themes

If switching themes doesn’t fix the problem, the issue is often not the theme. In real cases it’s usually a plugin conflict, an mu-plugin, corrupted cache/minified assets, or PHP compatibility.

• Temporarily disable plugins (via FTP: rename wp-content/plugins)
• Check wp-content/debug.log (or server error logs)
• Confirm PHP version compatibility (theme + plugins)
• Disable caching/minification plugins if you suspect JS/CSS breaking admin UI

(Internal linking idea: link here to “How to disable plugins without wp-admin” and “Fix WordPress critical error”.)

FAQ

How do I deactivate a theme in WordPress?

WordPress always needs one active theme. So “deactivating” means activating a different theme (Appearance → Themes → Activate).

How do I remove (delete) a theme in WordPress?

If the theme is not active, you can delete it from Appearance → Themes → Theme Details → Delete. If you don’t see the Delete button, remove the theme folder via FTP/SFTP.

Can I delete the active theme?

No. Switch to another theme first, then delete the old theme.

Will I lose my content if I switch or remove themes?

No. Posts, pages, and media stay. But layout, widget areas, and styling can change. If you delete a theme, you’ll need to reinstall it to use it again.

What’s the fastest recovery method if WordPress is down?

Rename the active theme folder via FTP so WordPress falls back to another installed theme, then troubleshoot the root cause using logs.

Need help diagnosing the real cause?

If you’re stuck in a loop (switch theme → still broken → no clear error), the fastest path is a short technical review: logs, plugin conflicts, PHP compatibility, caching layers, and a prioritized fix plan.

FAQ