WordPress plugins are small software apps that add new features or extend the base functionality on your site. Uninstalling a plugin is not just about removing it from the admin dashboard, but also involves deleting leftover tables, files, and code snippets underneath. This can help prevent potential problems down the line. Most of the time, these leftovers don't cause a problem, but there's always a chance they might lead to trouble. When you no longer need a plugin, you have the option of deactivating or deleting it. Deactivating a plugin is like switching a light off, while deleting removes the plugin from your plugin list and uninstalls all the files from your site. Deleting a plugin is helpful when troubleshooting a problem on your site, but if you find a rogue plugin, it's best to delete it completely. To uninstall a WordPress plugin, log in to your admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed plugins, scroll down to the plugin you want to remove, click Deactivate, and then Delete. Most of the time, all the plugin files get removed immediately, but some bits of data can get left behind, so it's necessary to manually remove any "leftovers" after uninstalling a WordPress plugin. Removing leftover files and folders involves using FTP or SFTP with a program like FileZilla or Cyberduck to delete unwanted files from your site. Removing leftover database tables and shortcodes requires using phpMyAdmin to drop the table and Shortcodes Finder to find and remove unused shortcodes throughout your site. To uninstall all the leftovers, follow the steps above to ensure that you remove all the plugin data from your WordPress site.