Five plugins I remove from almost every site I inherit

When I take over a WordPress site, the plugin list tells me most of its history. Here are the categories I remove most often. None of these plugins are bad — they're just doing jobs that are already covered.

1. A second (or third) SEO plugin

Yoast and Rank Math both installed, both writing meta tags. Search engines see duplicate titles and conflicting canonicals. Pick one, migrate the settings, remove the other.

2. "Insert headers and footers" style plugins

Usually installed years ago to add one tracking script. Now holding six scripts nobody remembers adding. I move what's still needed into the theme or a tag manager and remove the plugin — and the dead scripts with it.

3. Separate plugins for tiny features

A plugin to disable comments. Another for SVG uploads. Another to duplicate posts. Another to change the login logo. Each is a few lines of code. Together they're four extra update cycles and four extra security surfaces. I replace them with a small, documented site plugin.

4. Overlapping performance plugins

A caching plugin, an image optimiser with its own lazy-loading, a separate lazy-loading plugin, and a minifier — all fighting over the same HTML. The result is often slower than using one well-configured tool.

5. Page builder add-on packs

"Ultimate Addons," "Essential Addons," "Premium Addons"… sometimes all three, used for two widgets. Each loads its own assets. I check which widgets are actually used, rebuild them with core widgets where possible, and remove the packs.

Every plugin is a dependency you're promising to maintain.

How I remove them safely

1. Full backup, then work on staging.
2. Search the database for shortcodes and settings each plugin uses.
3. Replace functionality, deactivate, test key pages and forms.
4. Delete — don't just deactivate — and document what changed.

A lighter plugin list means faster pages, fewer conflicts and calmer update days.