How to Disable WordPress Plugins for Newbies (3 Ways)

even if WordPress PluginVery handy, but sometimes they need to be disabled. Especially because some plugins cause conflicts that slow down the site or the plugin is no longer needed.

Remember, the most important step is to keep your website as well as plugins updated. This way, you can always check if the plugin is causing problems. If you find a problem, you can disable the plugin in time to avoid potential trouble.

There are actually multiple ways to disable the WordPress plugin. In this article, we'll cover the three most common methods, including one that uses FTP, so even if the WordPress dashboard fails to log in, there's a solution.

How to Disable WordPress Plugins

There are three ways to disable or deactivate WordPress plugins. The first way is through the WordPress dashboard (which is also the most commonly used). But if you can't get into the WordPress admin backend, there are two other ways.

Disable WordPress Plugin from wp-admin Dashboard

To disable the WordPress plugin from the wp-admin dashboard, follow the steps below.

Deactivate individual plug-ins

1. Log in to the WordPress dashboard.

2. Navigating toleft sidebars."plug-in (software component)".

3. Find the plug-in you want to disable.

4. View the name of the plug-in and click the "deactivate"Link.

5. Finally, confirm that you want to deactivate the plugin.

Batch Disable Plugins

1. Go to the WordPress dashboard in the backend.

2. In the sidebar menu, click on "plug-in (software component)".

3. On the pageupper left, you will see a Select All checkbox, check it to select all plugins.

4. In the upper "batch operation" menu, click on it and several options will appear. Select "deactivate".

5. Finally, click on "appliance"Button. Done! All plugins are deactivated.

Disable WordPress Plugin via FTP

If you can't disable the plugin via the WordPress dashboard, don't worry, you canManually disabling plugins via FTP. Here are the exact steps:

1. Connecting to your WordPress site via FTP
Connect to your server account with an FTP client like FileZilla, or you can use an online tool like ssheasy.com. FileZilla is used here as an example.

2. Go to the "wp-content/plugins" directory.
This directory contains all installed WordPress plugins for the site.

3. Find the folder of the plug-in you want to disable
Browse the plugin folder and locate the plugin folder you need to disable.

4. Change plugin folder name
Add a prefix to the folder name, such as "disabled_". For example, if the plugin folder name is "my-plugin", you can rename it to "disabled_my-plugin".

5. Save changes and disconnect from FTP

The plugin will be disabled when the folder name is changed.

draw attention to sth.: If you want to re-enable the plugin, just change the folder name back to its original name.

Disable WordPress plugin via phpMyAdmin

Disabling the WordPress plugin via phpMyAdmin is a straightforward but slightly more technical approach. This is also a good option if you are familiar with database management.

1. Log in to yourMainframe Control PanelThe

2. Find the phpMyAdmin linkThe

3. Select the database where your WordPress website data is storedThe

4. go into wp_options a meter (measuring sth)
This table stores the various settings and options for the site.

5. find active_plugins options (as in computer software settings)The

6. strike (on the keyboard) active_plugins Edit" link next to optionsThe

7. active_plugins option is a serialized array containing activated plugins.
To disable a plugin, simply remove the plugin's identifier (slug) from the array. For example, if the identifier of the plugin is "my-plugin", remove it from the array.

8. Click the "Execute" button to save the changes.The

Disabling vs. Uninstalling WordPress Plugins

Now that you understand the importance of disabling plugins, there's one more little detail you need to know if you're a newbie, and that's theprohibit the use of sth.together withuninstallationPlugin Differences.

• Disable plug-ins: Simply stops the plugin from running, but the plugin remains in the site's WordPress dashboard and can be enabled again in the future.
• Uninstallation of plug-ins: The plugin files will be completely removed and the plugin will no longer appear in the dashboard or have any effect on the site anymore.

If you don't intend to use a plugin again, it's best to remove itsuninstallation, keeping the site clean and efficient.

How to Uninstall WordPress Plugin

Now we know.prohibit the use of sth.together withuninstallationWordPress provides a very simple way for users to uninstall plugins, follow the steps below:

1. Login WordPress Dashboard, go to the plugin page.
Here you can see a list of all the plugins installed on the site.

2. Find the plug-in to uninstall
Active plugins are highlighted in blue, with "Disable" and "Edit" options below the plugin name.

3. Click on the "Delete" button
Ignore the "Activate" and "Edit" buttons and click "Delete".

4. Confirming the delete operation
WordPress will pop up a confirmation box asking if you are sure you want to remove the plugin.

After completing the above steps, the plugin will be completely removed and will no longer remain in your WordPress site.

Remove extra files left behind by WordPress plugin

In many cases, deleted plugins may leave files outside of the plugin folder. If this is the case, the cleanup can be done via an FTP client.

1. Connecting to your site via an FTP client
After connecting using the FTP client, go to /wp-content/ Folder.

2. Deletion of relevant documents
Locate and delete the plugin's leftover files in this folder to ensure that the plugin is completely removed from your site.

In this way, you can easily accomplish a thorough cleanup of your plugins.

Remove unused shortcodes in WordPress

Many plugins use short codes in posts and pages. If these plugins are disabled, the short code may show up in the post, causing the page content to look less aesthetically pleasing.

To disable these shortcodes, you can add them to the theme's functions.php Add the following code to the file:

add_shortcode( 'pluginshortcode', '__return_false' );

What this code does is simple: it stops the shortcode left over from plugin removal from displaying anything. Be sure to set the 'pluginshortcode' Replace the shortcode tag with the original plugin.

💡 take note of: Remember to remove this code if you need to reuse the removed plugin in the future.

summarize

In this post, a step-by-step guide on how to disable WordPress plugins through three different methods is covered. Even if you can't disable the plugin through the admin backend, there are other methods you can try.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What happens if I disable all WordPress plugins?
Don't worry, disabling a plugin just stops it from running, it doesn't delete its settings or data. The site will still work fine, it's just missing the plugin's functionality.

Q2. How do I disable unused WordPress plugins?
go into Plugins > Installed Plugins, click the unused plugin next to the "deactivate" button. If the plugin is no longer needed, you can also just delete it.

Q3. How do I turn off automatic updates for the WordPress plugin?
leave for Dashboard > UpdatesIf you want to enable automatic updates for all plugins, uncheck "Enable automatic updates for all plugins". Or you can use a plugin like "Easy Updates Manager" to control automatic updates.