Delete Site
Table of Contents
Permanently Deleting Your Site
Deleting a Site with Upgrades
Alternative Options
Reverse a Site Deletion
Account Closure
Permanently Deleting Your Site
Deleting a site permanently removes it and you’ll never be able to re-use its WordPress.com address (such as yourgroovysite.wordpress.com
).
If that’s not what you want to do, you can instead try any of the Alternative Options located later in this document.
If you’re sure you want to permanently delete your site, here’s how to do it.
If you have any upgrades on this site, they will need to be removed before the site can be deleted. See the Deleting a Site with Upgrades section for more details.
Step 1 – Visit your site’s settings page by clicking on My Site (s) → Manage → Settings.

Step 2 – Scroll to the bottom of the Settings page, and select Delete your site permanently
Note that site deletions are permanent!

Step 3 – On the following screen, you will first be presented with the option to export your content. Once you delete your site, this content won’t be recoverable, so we advise exporting the content to a .zip file before taking any further steps. You can do so by clicking the Export Content button.

Step 4 – Once you have exported your content, scroll down to find the Delete Site button. If you have multiple sites on your account, be sure to confirm that the correct site address is listed in the yellow alert bar

Step 5 – Confirm the deletion. Enter the address of the site (shown in red) into the provided field, then click the Delete this Site button
This is the final step – once you click Delete this Site your site will be permanently deleted.

At this point, anyone who attempts to visit your site will see a message stating that your site is no longer available and has been deleted by the authors.
Deleting a Site with Upgrades
You may see the following message during the deletion process:

This means your site has paid upgrades associated with it. Before you can delete your site, you’ll need to remove them. This prevents you from losing access to your paid upgrades.
Click on the Manage Upgrades button to be taken to the Purchases page. Once there, use the links provided on that page to cancel your upgrades, or contact support to help you transfer them to another site on your account.
If you are unable to cancel any of the upgrades, you can also contact support for help.
Once your upgrades have been removed from the site, you can click on My Site(s) → Manage → Settings and start again.
Alternative Options
- Change your site’s address and keep your content
- Delete old posts and continue using the same address
- Empty your site of all its content for a fresh start and continue using the same address
- Transfer your site to someone else
- Make your site private so only people you invite can see it
Reverse a Site Deletion
It is possible to reverse a site deletion for the first 30 days after a site is closed. If you realize you closed your site in error, please contact us immediately. We will be able to assist you in restoring your site during this 30 day window. Once the 30 days have passed, all of your site data is purged and cannot be restored, and the site address is deleted and cannot be reused.
Account Closure
If you want to fully shut down your WordPress.com account, please see the Close My Account page for more information.
Still confused?
Help us improve:
We're always looking to improve our documentation. If this page didn't answer your question or left you wanting more, let us know! We love hearing your feedback. For support, please use the forums or contact support form. Thanks!