What happens to WordPress plugins if your theme is deactivated?

If you’ve ever changed your WordPress theme, you might have wondered what happens to the rest of your site, especially your plugins. Will they still work? Could you lose settings or functionality?

A common concern is whether WordPress deactivates a plugin if a theme is deactivated. The good news is your plugins don’t just disappear, but there are a few things you should know before hitting that deactivate button. Here’s what you need to know.

• WordPress themes and plugins are separate – deactivating your theme won’t turn off your plugins.
• Most plugins continue to work normally, unless they rely on specific theme features like widget areas or custom templates.
• Switching themes can affect layout or styling, so always check how your plugins display after a theme change.
• Inactive plugins don’t slow your site, but outdated ones can pose security risks delete anything you’re no longer using.
• Back up your site before making changes using a plugin like UpdraftPlus, just in case anything breaks.
• Use a staging site to safely test theme changes without affecting your live site.
• After switching themes, test key functionality like forms, sliders, widgets, and mobile layout to catch any issues early.

Changing or deactivating your theme won’t break your plugins. In most cases, they’ll keep running exactly as they were.

WordPress treats themes and plugins as separate things. So even if your theme is deactivated, your active plugins will keep running like normal. Most plugins work independently of your theme, unless they were built to rely on it (which isn’t very common).

If you’ve manually deactivated any plugins, those will stay inactive until you turn them back on. But their files and settings stay on your site. So if you reactivate them later, they’ll usually pick up right where they left off.

While most plugins work fine no matter what theme you’re using, there are a few exceptions where things might get a bit messy.

Some plugins rely on your theme for certain features like widget areas, custom templates, or specific styling. So if you deactivate your theme or switch to a new one, those features might not show up properly, or could look broken.

For example, if you had a plugin displaying content in a sidebar, and your new theme doesn’t have that sidebar, the content might just vanish from the page. Or if your old theme had custom styles for a form plugin, that form might now look completely different.

It’s not super common, but it’s worth checking your site after switching themes to make sure everything still works and looks the way you want.

• Check key plugin features (contact forms, sliders, galleries, etc)
• Look for missing widgets or widget areas
• Make sure shortcodes are still working
• Review styling and layout for things like buttons and forms
• Test your menus and navigation
• Browse your site on mobile to spot any layout issues

Deactivating a theme won’t directly affect your site’s speed, but it’s still a good time to tidy things up.

Inactive plugins don’t run in the background, so they don’t slow your site down. But they can take up space in your database or backups, and clutter up your dashboard. More importantly, outdated or unused plugins (even if deactivated) can still pose a security risk if they’re not kept up to date.

It’s a good idea to review your plugins now and then. If you’re not using something and don’t plan to, it’s safer to delete it completely rather than leaving it sitting there.

If you’re switching themes or deactivating plugins, it’s always smart to back up your site first. That way, if anything breaks or doesn’t look right, you can easily roll back.

Changing themes can be exciting, but it’s worth taking a few extra steps to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Here are a few best practices to follow:

• Back up your site first: This gives you a safety net in case anything breaks or looks off. A plugin like UpdraftPlus makes this quick and easy.
• Use a staging site if possible: Testing theme changes in a staging environment helps you catch issues before they go live.
• Check your layout and styling:
  Again, check that everything on the front end is working correctly (widgets, layouts, etc)
• Clean up unused plugins: If you’ve got inactive plugins lying around that you don’t plan to use, go ahead and delete them. It keeps your site faster and safer.
• Re-test important user journeys: Click through your most important pages like your contact form, shop, or blog posts to catch anything that’s gone missing or looks off.

Switching to a new theme is easy, but doing it the right way helps you avoid surprises.

Here’s how:

1. Back up your site first (you knew we’d say it!) You can do this a couple of clicks with UpdraftPlus.

2. Go to Appearance > Themes

3. Click Add New to browse and install a new theme, or upload a .zip file if you’ve bought one elsewhere

4. Once it’s installed, click Live Preview to check how your site will look

5. If you’re happy, click Activate

6. Review your site to make sure everything still works and looks good

Deactivating your WordPress theme won’t break your plugins, but it can still cause a few unexpected hiccups, especially if some features relied on the old theme’s layout or styling.

The key takeaway: WordPress doesn’t deactivate plugins if your theme is deactivated, but you should always double-check that everything still works the way you want. Test your site, clean up unused items, and back things up before making big changes.