[Resolved] What is the impact of disabling and deleting plugins?

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

When importing themes such as Peak, it imports the following plugins.

Gutenberg

HappyForms

MailChimp for WordPress

Menu Icons

Recent Posts Widget Extended

Assuming the features are not needed e.g. forms, what is the impact of disabling and deleting the plugins?

Additionally, is there the ability to delete the plugins and any dependencies it may have? For example, will all dependent code also be removed?

The objective is to minimize the need for plugins that are not needed and reduce the security attack surface.

[David]

Hi there,

the impact of removing certain plugins could be the site will break – none of those you mentioned above would do this and we try to avoid using any plugins that would aside from Page Builder sites that would just leave HTML behind.

You may find shortocdes e.g for forms in the page / widget area that would need deleting.

Some plugins will remove all related data and folders when they are deleted. Some may leave there folders behind and database content. If that is a concern then you can manually remove the folders and clean your database either manually through PHPAdmin or using a plugin like this:

https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-database-cleaner/

[Anonymous]

Thanks David.

To clarify, can all the plugins for themes that are not reliant on Elementor and Beaver Builder be disabled and deleted other than GeneratePress?

If no, can you please provide guidance on the dependent plugins for each of the themes?

[David]

All plugins that come with a Site install can be deleted, aside from GP Premium.

[Anonymous]

Thanks David. If all the plugins can be deleted aside GP Premium, will any of them result in a non-functional site? I have assumed no based on your previous feedback.

[David]

The most you will see is Shortcodes in the content that is related to any deleted plugins. But they will still function.

I suppose the worst one would be something like the Dispatch site – it relies heavily on WP Show Posts to create the front page and sidebars.

[Anonymous]

Thanks David.

[David]

You’re welcome

[Author]

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