--- title: "How to Delete a WordPress Site Completely [Step-by-Step]" url: https://theplusaddons.com/blog/delete-a-wordpress-site/ date: 2024-09-11 modified: 2026-07-01 lang: en author: "Aditya Sharma" description: "Say a project has run its course. The site is outdated, it is costing you hosting fees, or it was compromised and you just want it gone. Deleting a WordPress..." image: https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-124-1024x536.png word_count: 1555 --- # How to Delete a WordPress Site Completely [Step-by-Step] ## - Backup WordPress site files and database using backup plugins or cPanel before deletion. - Delete WordPress site files through cPanel's File Manager by selecting and removing all files in the public_html directory. - Remove the WordPress database using phpMyAdmin by selecting the database and choosing the Drop option. - Terminate hosting and delete the domain through cPanel to ensure complete removal of online presence. - Use Google Search Console to remove URLs from search results and prevent search engines from indexing the site. Say a project has run its course. The site is outdated, it is costing you hosting fees, or it was compromised and you just want it gone. Deleting a WordPress site sounds like hitting one button, but doing it *completely* means removing several things that live in different places: the files, the database, the hosting and domain, and the copies search engines and web archives still hold. This guide walks through the full removal step by step, no coding required, and it flags the two places people usually get it wrong: assuming a cPanel button cancels their hosting, and mixing up how to actually drop a site out of Google. Back up first, then work through the steps in order. Table Of Contents ## Why delete a WordPress site? There are a few common reasons. You may no longer use the site and want to stop paying for hosting and free up resources. You may be rebranding or consolidating several sites into one. Or there may be a security reason: if the site was hacked or is serving malware, taking it down fully can stop the damage and protect your reputation. Whatever the reason, treat this as close to permanent. Once the files and database are gone and the hosting is cancelled, getting the site back means restoring from a backup, which is exactly why the first step below is not optional. ## How to completely delete a WordPress site Deleting a self-hosted WordPress site completely takes six steps, in this order: - Back up your files and database - Delete your site files - Delete the WordPress database - Cancel hosting and release the domain - Remove the content from search engines - Remove the site from web archives ### 1. Back up your files and database Even when you are certain, back up first. Plans change, and a backup is the only way to bring the site back later. A WordPress site has two parts to save: the **files** (themes, plugins, uploads) and the **database** (posts, pages, comments, settings). Store the backup somewhere off the server, such as your computer or cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox. The easy route is a backup plugin. Tools like these automate a full copy of both files and database and can push it to remote storage, which is why one belongs on every live site. See our roundup of the [best WordPress backup plugins](https://theplusaddons.com/blog/best-wordpress-backup-plugins/) to pick one. If you prefer to do it manually, cPanel makes a file backup straightforward: **Step 1.** Log in to your hosting, open cPanel, and click **File Manager**. ![Click on File Manager in cPanel](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Click-on-File-Manager.png)Open File Manager from the cPanel dashboard. **Step 2.** Open the **public_html** folder, where your site files live. ![Select the public_html folder](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Select-public_html-file.png)All your site files sit inside public_html. **Step 3.** Click **Select All**, then right-click and choose **Compress**. ![Select all files and compress](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Select-all-and-compress-1024x547.png)Select every file, then compress the lot into one archive. **Step 4.** Choose **Zip Archive** and click **Compress Files**. ![Choose Zip Archive and compress files](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/click-on-zip-archive.png)A zip archive is the most portable format for a manual file backup. Download the resulting zip to your computer and keep it safe. Remember this covers files only, so also export the database (the next section shows where it lives). A backup plugin captures both in one step, which is why it is the simpler path for most people. ![Download and store the zip file on your computer](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Store-your-zip-file-on-your-computer.png)Download the archive and store it off the server. ### 2. Delete your site files With a backup safely downloaded, you can remove the files. Back in cPanel, open **File Manager** again. ![Open File Manager to delete site files](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Delete-Your-Site-Files.png)Head back into File Manager to remove the files. Open **public_html**, click **Select All**, and click **Delete**. Your site files are now gone from the server. ![Select all files and delete](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/click-on-Select-All-and-Delete.png)Select everything in public_html and delete it. ### 3. Delete the WordPress database The database holds your posts, pages, users, and settings, so it has to go too. Open **phpMyAdmin** from the cPanel dashboard. ![Open phpMyAdmin from cPanel](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Delete-WordPress-Database.png)phpMyAdmin is where your site database lives. Select your site's database, open the **Structure** tab, tick **Check All**, then choose **Drop** from the dropdown and confirm. That removes every table. If your host lets you delete the database itself from the MySQL Databases tool, do that too so no empty database is left behind. ![Check all tables and drop the database](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Drop-Database-1024x523.png)Check all tables, then Drop to clear the database. ### 4. Cancel hosting and release the domain This is the step most guides get wrong, so read it carefully. Removing a domain inside cPanel only detaches that domain from the hosting account. It does **not** cancel your hosting plan, and it does **not** delete your domain registration. Two separate actions handle those: - **To stop paying for hosting**, cancel the plan from your host's billing area or account dashboard, not from cPanel. Until you cancel the plan, you keep getting billed even with the files deleted. - **To release the domain**, manage it at your registrar. You can let it expire, or delete or transfer it there. A domain is registered separately from hosting, even when you bought both from the same company. If you only want to detach a domain from this account (for example, an addon domain you are moving elsewhere), you can do that in cPanel under **Domains**. ![Open the Domains section in cPanel](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Delete-Domain-and-Terminate-Hosting.png)The Domains area in cPanel manages which domains point at this account. Open **Domains**, find the domain, and click **Manage**. ![Click Manage next to your domain](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Click-on-Manage.png)Manage the specific domain you want to detach. Click **Remove Domain** to detach it from the hosting account. ![Click Remove Domain](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Click-on-Remove-Domain.png)Remove Domain detaches it here, but the registration still exists at your registrar. Once the files are deleted, those pages return errors, so Google will eventually drop them on its own. If you want them gone from search faster, do the next step. ### 5. Remove the content from search engines Deleting the files makes your pages return a not-found error, and Google removes those from results over time. To speed it up, use Google Search Console. Note this only works if the property is already verified in Search Console. **Step 1.** Open Google Search Console and, in the left menu, click **Removals**. ![Open Removals in Google Search Console](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Remove-URLs-using-Google-Search-Console.png)The Removals tool in Google Search Console. **Step 2.** Click **New Request**. ![Create a new removal request](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Temporary-Removals.png)Start a new removal request. **Step 3.** Enter the URL (or a prefix to cover the whole site) and submit. ![Enter the URL to remove from Google](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Type-in-the-URL-that-you-want-to-remove.png)Submit the URL or a prefix that covers the whole site. One important caveat: a Search Console removal is **temporary**, roughly six months. It hides the URL from results while Google recrawls. The permanent delisting comes from the pages genuinely being gone (returning a not-found error after you delete the files), which is why the removal request is a speed-up, not the real fix. If you are *not* deleting the whole site yet and only want it out of search while it stays online, go to **Settings > Reading** in WordPress and tick **Discourage search engines from indexing this site**. This asks crawlers to stay away, but it applies only while the site still exists. ![WordPress Reading settings](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Prevent-search-engines-to-index-your-site.png)Settings > Reading holds the search-engine visibility option. ![Discourage search engines from indexing this site](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Discourage-Search-engines-from-indexing-sites.png)Tick the box to discourage indexing while the site is still live. ### 6. Remove the site from web archives Even after all that, archives like the [Wayback Machine](https://web.archive.org/) may still hold snapshots of your old site. Enter your URL in its search box to check. If snapshots exist, you will see a calendar of archived versions. ![Check the Wayback Machine for archived snapshots](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Remove-your-site-from-internet-archieve.png)Search the Wayback Machine for archived versions of your site. To take those down, [contact the Internet Archive](https://archive.org/about/contact.php) and request removal of your site. With that done, the site is off the live web, out of search, and out of the archive. *Want to hide certain pages instead of deleting the whole site? See [**how to hide WordPress pages from Google**](https://theplusaddons.com/blog/how-to-hide-wordpress-pages-from-google/).* ## Bonus: how to delete a WordPress.com site On WordPress.com there is no cPanel or FTP involved, so deletion is a few clicks. **Step 1.** Log in to WordPress.com and open your site's dashboard. ![Log in to your WordPress.com account](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Log-in-to-your-WordPress.com-account.png)Open your site dashboard on WordPress.com. **Step 2.** Go to **Settings > General**, scroll to the bottom, and click **Delete your site permanently**. ![Click Delete your site permanently](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/click-on-Delete-your-site-permanently.png)The permanent-delete option sits at the bottom of General settings. **Step 3.** You will be asked to export a backup and then to type your site's URL to confirm. ![Confirm deletion by entering your site URL](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Delete-site.png)Confirm by typing the site URL. > ***Note:*** *Deleting a WordPress.com site is irreversible, and you lose the free WordPress.com address. If you want to keep that address, buy or transfer the domain before you delete.* ***People also read:*** *[WordPress.com vs WordPress.org](https://theplusaddons.com/blog/wordpress-com-vs-wordpress-org/)* ![20+ Checklist for WordPress Site Maintenance eBook](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/20-Checklist-for-WordPress-Site-Maintenance-1024x1024.jpg) ##### Do you Manage WordPress Websites? Download Our FREE E-Book of 20+ Checklist for WordPress Site Maintenance. ​ [contact-form-7] Field LabelSend Me the eBook ## Suggested reading - [**How to unpublish a WordPress site**](https://theplusaddons.com/blog/how-to-unpublish-wordpress-site/), if you want it offline temporarily rather than gone for good. - [**Best WordPress security plugins**](https://theplusaddons.com/blog/best-wordpress-security-plugins/), if a hack is the reason you are taking the site down. - [**WordPress website maintenance checklist**](https://theplusaddons.com/blog/wordpress-website-maintenance-checklist/), to keep a site healthy instead of scrapping it. ## Wrapping up That is the complete removal: back up, delete the files, drop the database, cancel hosting and handle the domain at your registrar, clear the pages from search, and take down any archived snapshots. The two steps to be careful with are cancelling the actual hosting plan (a cPanel button will not do it) and understanding that a Search Console removal is temporary while the real delisting comes from the pages being gone. If you are deleting an old site to start fresh with a new build, and you work in Elementor, it is worth a look at [The Plus Addons for Elementor](https://theplusaddons.com/). With 120+ widgets and extensions in one plugin, it covers most of what you would otherwise reach for several plugins to do. Check out the [**Complete List of 120+ Widgets and Extensions**](https://theplusaddons.com/elementor-widgets/) here. Start building your dream website without coding!