WordPress Help

Activate and deactivate plugins in WordPress

WordPress offers a large number of plugins to add functionality to your site. They range from anti-spam comment filters to helping you build a small-scale social network. You can easily activate or deactivate plugins to add or remove certain features or for troubleshooting purposes.

Note: You have to install a plugin before you can activate or deactivate it. In case you can't log in to WordPress, you can deactivate plugins in your database or with FTP.

  1. Sign in to WordPress.
  2. From the left-side menu, select Plugins.
  3. Select all the plugins you want to activate, or select all the plugins you want to deactivate.
  4. Select Bulk Actions > Activate (or Deactivate), and then select Apply.

More info

  • Disable WordPress plugins in the database
  • Disable a WordPress plugin with FTP
  • You can view all currently installed plugins by selecting Plugins from the left-side menu. Also, you can select Active to show only active plugins or Inactive to display deactivated plugins.
  • Some WordPress plugins can affect your site's performance. Deactivating plugins and then testing your site's performance again can help you troubleshoot speed issues.
  • For help with WordPress troubleshooting, please see Troubleshooting WordPress.