How to Unpublish Your WordPress Website (An Ultimate Guide)

Do you own a WordPress site? At some point, you might need to take your site offline. Whether it’s for a quick update, a full redesign, or maybe just to hit pause for a while, knowing how to unpublish a WordPress website is important. It can feel tricky, but it’s not complicated.

If you’re working with a WordPress development company, they can help make the process even smoother, especially if your site requires significant updates or custom changes. However, you can manage smaller tasks on your own, like temporarily hiding your site.

Here, we’ll discuss the steps to temporarily or permanently unpublish your WordPress site so you can do it with ease whenever the need arises. Let’s dive in!

Why Unpublish a WordPress Site?

Typically, when you build a WordPress site, you publish pages and posts to make them available for visitors. However, there are times when you may need to unpublish any of these pages so they’re not visible to others. Maybe you’re planning to take your site in a new direction, or perhaps you accidentally published a page before it was ready.

Knowing how to unpublish your WordPress site can be really useful in these situations. It’s important to note that unpublishing isn’t the same as deleting your site. Think of it more like hitting a pause button. You can make the necessary updates or changes without permanently removing anything.

WordPress makes it easy to unpublish pages, hide them from visitors, or even make them accessible to only certain users. This flexibility gives you the freedom to manage your site efficiently, whether you’re working on a redesign or correcting mistakes.

In the next section, we’ll guide you through various ways you can unpublish a page or post, or even multiple pages and posts, depending on your needs.

How to Unpublish a WordPress Website

Whether you’re looking to temporarily or permanently take your WordPress website offline, it’s always a good idea to create a backup before proceeding. This ensures you have a copy of your website’s content, allowing you to restore it if needed. A backup also makes it easier to reinstall or migrate your WordPress site in the future.

Let’s walk through the methods for unpublishing a WordPress website.

Unpublishing a WordPress Website Permanently

If you’ve decided to permanently delete your WordPress website, follow these steps:

• Log into your WordPress admin dashboard and go to Settings → General.

• Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Delete your site permanently.
• If your site has any active subscriptions (such as a domain or plan), WordPress will ask you to cancel and remove them before proceeding.
• You’ll have the option to export your content for safekeeping. Once the site is deleted, you won’t be able to recover its content, so it’s highly recommended to click the “Export Content” button.
• After exporting, scroll down and click “Delete Site”. Be sure the correct site address is listed in the alert bar.
• To confirm, type your site’s address (which will be shown in red above the text box) into the provided field.
• Finally, click “Delete this Site”. This is the last step – once clicked, your site will be permanently deleted in a few seconds.

Unpublishing a WordPress Website Temporarily

If you only want to take your website offline for a while, you have two easy options:

• Disabling search engine visibility
• Use the maintenance mode

Method 1: Disabling Search Engine Visibility

This method makes your site invisible to search engines but still accessible to anyone with the link. Here’s how:

• From your admin dashboard, go to Settings → Reading.

• Check the box labeled Discourage search engines from indexing this site.

Remember, search engines may still choose to index your site, but this method usually helps.

Method 2: Use the Maintenance Mode

For a more robust solution, especially if you’re performing updates or redesigns, using Maintenance Mode is a better option. You can easily enable this with the help of a plugin like SeedProd.

Here’s what to do:

• From your dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New.
• Search for the SeedProd plugin, then click Install Now and Activate.
• When the setup wizard appears, click Exit Setup.

• Go to SeedProd → Setup and select Setup a Maintenance Page.
• Choose a template from the library and customize it using the drag-and-drop builder. Save once done.

• To enable maintenance mode, go to SeedProd → Landing Pages and toggle the switch under the Maintenance Mode section. Once activated, your entire site will be hidden from the public.

By following these steps, you can easily unpublish your WordPress site, whether temporarily or permanently, based on your needs.

How to Unpublish a Page/Post in WordPress

Unpublishing individual pages or posts in WordPress can be really handy when you’re revising content, performing maintenance, or just need to safeguard some information during a transition. Luckily, there are several methods you can use, depending on your specific needs.

Here are four effective ways to unpublish a specific page or post.

Method 1: Switch to Draft

This is the simplest way to temporarily unpublish a page or post. By changing its status to “Draft,” you can hide it from the public while you make updates or fix errors. Once you’re ready, simply republish it.

Here’s how to do it:

• From your WordPress dashboard, go to Pages → All Pages (or Posts if it’s a post).
• Hover over the page or post you want to unpublish and click Edit.

• In the block editor, find the Switch to Draft button on the right-hand side panel.
• A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm—click OK to unpublish.

Method 2: Use Bulk Actions for Multiple Pages or Posts

If you need to unpublish multiple pages or posts at once, the bulk actions feature can save you a lot of time.

Here’s how to do it:

• From your dashboard, go to Pages or Posts, depending on the content you want to unpublish.
• Select the checkboxes next to the pages or posts you want to unpublish.
• From the Bulk Actions drop-down menu, choose Edit and hit Apply.

• In the Status drop-down, select Draft.
• Click Update to unpublish all selected pages or posts at once.

Method 3: Use the Private Mode

Private mode allows you to unpublish a page or post but still keep it visible to collaborators with certain user roles (like admins or editors).

Here’s how to make a page or post private:

• Open the page or post in the block editor.

• In the Visibility section, select Private.
• Confirm the change by clicking OK in the pop-up.

Now, only admins and editors can view that content.

Method 4: Use Password Protection

Password protection offers another option for keeping a page or post hidden from the public. Only those with the correct password can view the content, which can help minimize internal security risks.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Open the page or post in the block editor.

• In the Visibility section, choose Password Protected.
• Enter a strong password in the provided field.
• Hit Update to apply the change.

With this method, visitors who want to access the page or post will need to enter the correct password.

Tips to Consider for Unpublishing a WordPress Website

Unpublishing a website can have a significant impact on your SEO. Whether you’re taking your site offline for maintenance, shutting it down permanently, or moving to a new platform, it’s essential to handle the process carefully to avoid hurting your search engine rankings.

Here are some important SEO considerations to keep in mind.

Consider Archiving Instead of Unpublishing

Instead of unpublishing your pages or posts, consider archiving them. Archiving keeps the content hidden from public view while maintaining internal linking and other SEO efforts. Archived pages can still be accessed via direct links if needed, which helps retain the SEO value.

Unpublishing, on the other hand, removes content from public view and also causes Google to remove the content from its index, which can hurt your SEO. Unpublishing is a better option for content that needs significant updates or is outdated and irrelevant.

To archive content, you’ll need to use a third-party plugin like LH Archived Post Status, as WordPress doesn’t offer this feature by default.

Repurpose Your Content

If the reason for unpublishing is the content quality, consider repurposing it instead. This approach allows you to give old content new life and maximize its value.

Take a look at how competitors cover similar topics and find ways to make your content more unique and engaging. You could:

Turn an old blog post into a new article with updated insights.

• Transform it into an infographic, video, or email newsletter.
• Combine related content into a comprehensive guide or resource hub.

As you repurpose, remember to optimize the content for current SEO algorithms. Update keywords, meta descriptions, and headers to improve search engine visibility. Also, consider the best WordPress SEO practices to stay on top.

Assess the Impact on SEO and User Experience (UX)

Unpublishing pages can lead to broken links, which negatively impacts SEO and user experience (UX). Search engines won’t be able to index the unpublished content, and users might land on 404 error pages if the content is removed.

To avoid these issues, create 301 redirects to ensure visitors are directed to the correct URL instead of encountering an error. You can also prevent search engines from indexing your content by going to Settings → Reading in your dashboard and selecting the Discourage search engines from indexing this site option.

Schedule Unpublishing

If you have time-sensitive content, like promotional offers or event-related posts, consider scheduling when to unpublish them. This can be easily done using a plugin like PublishPress Future, which automates and schedules changes to your posts or pages.

After installing the plugin, you’ll see a PublishPress Future menu in the block editor settings. Now, click the Generate Future Action box. Here, you can set the action, date, and time when the post or page should be unpublished. Once the scheduled time arrives, the status will automatically change, allowing you to manage your content more efficiently.

By keeping these tips in mind, you can unpublish your WordPress website without sacrificing your SEO or user experience.

FAQs on Unpublishing a WordPress Website

How do I make my WordPress page private?

To make your WordPress page private, go to the page settings in your WordPress Admin dashboard. In the Publish section on the top right, look for Visibility and click Edit. Select Private from the dropdown, then click OK to save your changes.

Can I hide a page from search engines without unpublishing it?

Yes, you can hide a page from search engines without unpublishing it. Simply install an SEO plugin like Yoast, go to the page's settings, and set the option to noindex under the SEO settings. This will tell search engines not to index the page, but it will remain visible on your website.

How do I restore or republish a page or post that I've unpublished?

To restore or republish a page or post, go to the Pages or Posts section in your WordPress dashboard. Find the unpublished item, click on it, and then click Publish in the top right corner. This will make it live on your website again.

Final Thoughts

Unpublishing a WordPress website, page, or post is simple but should be done thoughtfully. Whether you’re looking to unpublish temporarily for maintenance or permanently for a site overhaul, understanding the different methods ensures you make the right choice.

Before taking any action, weigh your options and consider taking a backup. By planning ahead, you can avoid disruptions and maintain a positive experience for your users.

If you need help unpublishing your website or migrating it, or want to make significant changes, you can hire our expert WordPress developers for the best outcomes.