Delete a website

This guide explains how to shut down your WordPress.com site and erase (delete) all of its content permanently.

Complete these important steps before proceeding with site deletion:

• Verify that your site is hosted through WordPress.com.
• Review the alternatives to deletion to confirm deletion is necessary.
• If you have active purchases (plans or domains), remove these first. You will be prompted to do this during the deletion process as well.
• Consider exporting your content for safekeeping. You will also have an option to do this during the deletion process.

To permanently delete your WordPress.com website, follow these steps:

1. Visit your hosting dashboard.
2. Click the title of the site you wish to delete:

3. In the left sidebar, select Settings.
4. Scroll to the “Delete site” section at the bottom of the screen and click the “Delete” button.

5. If you have not yet removed active purchases, you will be prompted to remove all paid subscriptions first.
6. Type your full site address into the text box. This is an extra step to confirm you are deleting the correct site.
7. Click the “Delete Site” button to permanently delete your site.

Once deleted, anyone who visits your site will see a message stating that it has been deleted by the author.

If your site has active paid purchases (such as a plan, domain, or email subscription), you must remove these before deletion.

To remove purchases, follow these steps:

1. When prompted during the deletion process, click the “Manage Purchases” button.
2. On your Purchases page, select each purchase associated with the site.
3. Follow the steps to cancel and remove each purchase.
4. Return to the site settings to continue the deletion process.

Instead of deleting your website, these less permanent options might better suit your needs:

• Make your site private so only you can see it.
• Cancel your purchases to revert to a free site with no future charges.
• Change your site’s address to a different name.
• Reset your site for a fresh start while keeping the same address.
• Transfer your site to another WordPress.com account.

You can restore a deleted website within 30 days of deletion. After 30 days, the site data is permanently removed and the address cannot be reused.

To restore a deleted site, follow these steps:

1. Visit your hosting dashboard.
2. Click the “Add Filter” icon next to the “Search” box:

3. Select the Filter icon (it looks like three horizontal lines, each one smaller than the one above it).
4. Choose Deleted, and select Yes to display your deleted sites.

5. Click the ⋮ icon next to the site you wish to restore, and select the “Restore site” option:

Your site will be restored after a few seconds. If you need to restore plugins and other features from a Business or Commerce plan, learn how to restore your site after the plan expires.

Does deleting my site permanently erase my content and data?

Deleting a site permanently removes its content, and you can never reuse its WordPress.com address. Export your content or download a backup first if you want to keep a copy. You can restore a deleted site within 30 days; after 30 days the data and address are gone for good.

I can’t log in. Can support delete my site for me?

Our support team cannot delete a site on your behalf. If you cannot log in, follow the account recovery guide to regain access first, then delete the site yourself from your site’s settings.

What’s the difference between deleting, resetting, and making my site private?

Each does something different: deleting permanently removes the site and its address; resetting wipes your content but keeps the same address for a fresh start; and making the site private hides it from visitors while keeping all your content. If you only want to stop people from seeing your site, make it private rather than deleting it.