How to Manage Plugins in WordPress: Install, Update, Deactivate and Delete

Updated: 4 November 2026 · Applies to: WordPress 7.1.3 (screen labels from its source code; WP-CLI 2.12.0 commands tested)

You manage WordPress plugins under Plugins > Installed Plugins: each plugin has Activate or Deactivate, inactive plugins also have Delete, and the Automatic Updates column has Enable auto-updates. New plugins are added under Plugins > Add Plugin. By default only the Administrator role can install and activate plugins.

Install a plugin

1. Go to Plugins > Add Plugin.
2. Search the WordPress plugin directory with the search box, or browse the Featured, Popular, Recommended and Favorites tabs. Check when the plugin was last updated and whether it is tested with your WordPress version.
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.

From a .zip file (for example a paid plugin): click Upload Plugin, choose the .zip, click Install Now and then Activate Plugin. If that plugin is already installed, WordPress offers Replace current with uploaded, which is also a way to update or reinstall it by hand. Video guides: install a plugin, install a plugin manually.

Activate, deactivate and delete

1. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. The links above the list filter it: All, Active, Inactive, Recently Active, Update Available, Auto-updates Enabled and Auto-updates Disabled (plus Must-Use and Drop-ins when you have them).
2. Click Activate or Deactivate under a plugin. Deactivating keeps the plugin and its settings, so it is the safe first step when you suspect a plugin.
3. To remove a plugin, deactivate it first; Delete only appears for inactive plugins. WordPress asks "Are you sure you want to delete ... and its data?" because deleting from this screen also runs the plugin's own uninstall routine, which may remove its settings.
4. For several plugins at once, tick them, choose Activate, Deactivate, Update, Delete, Enable Auto-updates or Disable Auto-updates from Bulk actions and click Apply.

Since plugins can depend on each other, you may see "This plugin cannot be activated because required plugins are missing or inactive." or "You cannot deactivate this plugin as other plugins require it." Install or deactivate the related plugin first. See also deactivate or remove a plugin.

Keep plugins updated

• When an update exists, the plugin shows "There is a new version of ... available" with a View version ... details link and an update now link. Dashboard > Updates lists all pending updates together.
• Click Enable auto-updates in the Automatic Updates column for plugins you trust to update unattended.
• Back up first (back up the database with WP-CLI), and test big updates on a staging copy.

During an update WordPress puts the site into maintenance mode for a moment. If an update stops halfway, see Another Update in Process and Destination folder already exists.

Manage plugins with WP-CLI

Over SSH or cPanel Terminal, in your WordPress folder:

$ wp plugin list
+----------------+----------+-----------+---------+----------------+-------------+
| name           | status   | update    | version | update_version | auto_update |
+----------------+----------+-----------+---------+----------------+-------------+
| akismet        | inactive | none      | 5.7.2   |                | off         |
| classic-editor | inactive | available | 1.6.5   | 1.7.0          | off         |
| health-check   | active   | none      | 1.7.1   |                | off         |
| hello          | inactive | none      | 1.7.2   |                | off         |
+----------------+----------+-----------+---------+----------------+-------------+

• Install and activate from the directory: wp plugin install health-check --activate
• Install from a .zip on the server: wp plugin install ~/plugin-name.zip --activate
• Activate or deactivate: wp plugin activate classic-editor, wp plugin deactivate classic-editor
• Update one or all: wp plugin update classic-editor, wp plugin update --all (add --dry-run to only list them)
• Turn on auto-updates: wp plugin auto-updates enable classic-editor
• Remove cleanly: wp plugin uninstall classic-editor --deactivate

Be careful with wp plugin delete: it removes the files without deactivating or uninstalling. In our test it deleted an active plugin with no warning and left it in the list of active plugins until WordPress noticed the missing file.

A plugin broke the site

If the site shows "There has been a critical error on this website." after you installed or updated a plugin, deactivate that plugin without loading it. WP-CLI fails with the same error unless you add --skip-plugins:

$ wp plugin deactivate broken-demo --skip-plugins
Plugin 'broken-demo' deactivated.
Success: Deactivated 1 of 1 plugins.

Without a shell, open wp-content/plugins in File Manager or SFTP and rename the plugin's folder (for example to broken-demo.off). WordPress then cannot find the plugin file and deactivates it; the Plugins screen reports that the plugin "has been deactivated due to an error: Plugin file does not exist." Rename the folder back later if you want to try it again. If you do not know which plugin is at fault, see WordPress white screen or critical error.

Good habits

• Delete plugins you no longer use; inactive plugins still sit on the server and need updates.
• Install plugins from the WordPress directory or the developer's own site, never "nulled" copies of paid plugins.
• Do not edit plugin code in Plugins > Plugin File Editor: the next update overwrites your change, and a mistake can break the site.

To learn where plugins live on disk, see what is in the wp-content folder.

Official documentation: Manage Plugins, wp plugin