How to Unpublish a WordPress Site: A Step-by-Step Guide

Unpublishing a WordPress site can be essential for various reasons, whether you're rebranding, redesigning, or simply taking a break from your online presence. The good news is that unpublishing your WordPress site is a straightforward process. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to unpublish your site while ensuring your content remains intact and secure. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Log in to Your WordPress Dashboard

To begin, log in to your WordPress dashboard using your administrator credentials. This is the control center for your website, where you can manage all aspects of your site, including posts, pages, and settings.

Step 2: Backup Your Website

Before making any significant changes, it's crucial to back up your website. This ensures that you can restore your content if anything goes wrong. You can use plugins like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy to create a complete backup of your site, including your database, themes, and plugins.

Step 3: Set Your Site to Private

If you want to temporarily unpublish your WordPress site, you can change the visibility settings to make your site private. Here's how:

1. Go to the Settings menu on your dashboard and select Reading .
2. Under the Site Visibility section, choose the option that says "I would like to make my site private, visible only to users I choose."
3. Save the changes by clicking the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

This will restrict access to your site, making it visible only to administrators and users you specify.

Step 4: Use a Maintenance Mode Plugin

Another effective way to unpublish your WordPress site is to use a maintenance mode plugin. This option allows you to display a customized message to visitors, informing them that the site is temporarily unavailable. Popular plugins for this purpose include WP Maintenance Mode and SeedProd .

To use a maintenance mode plugin:

1. Go to the Plugins section in your dashboard and click on Add New .
2. Search for a maintenance mode plugin (e.g., WP Maintenance Mode) and click Install Now .
3. After installation, click Activate to enable the plugin.
4. Configure the settings of the plugin to create a maintenance page, set a message, and customize the appearance as per your requirements.

Step 5: Unpublish Individual Pages or Posts

If you only want to unpublish specific content, you can do so by editing individual pages or posts:

1. Navigate to the Posts or Pages section in your dashboard.
2. Select the post or page you want to unpublish.
3. Click Edit , then change the status to Draft or Private under the Publish box on the right-hand side.
4. Click the Update button to save your changes.

Step 6: Disable Indexing by Search Engines

If you're unpublishing your site to remove it from search engines temporarily, you can disable indexing:

1. Go to Settings and select Reading .
2. Check the box next to "Discourage search engines from indexing this site."
3. Click Save Changes .

This step informs search engines not to crawl and index your site, effectively removing it from search results over time.

Step 7: Deactivate Your WordPress Hosting

As a last resort, if you need to unpublish your WordPress site entirely, you can deactivate your hosting. Contact your hosting provider and request them to suspend your account or website temporarily. Be sure to back up all your data before taking this step, as deactivating hosting could result in losing your site's content.

FAQ

1. What happens to my content when I unpublish my WordPress site?

Your content remains intact and secure. When you unpublish using methods like setting the site to private or enabling maintenance mode, you’re simply hiding it from the public view, not deleting it.

2. Can I republish my site after unpublishing it?

Yes, you can republish your site at any time. If you used maintenance mode, you can disable the plugin to bring your site back online. If you set your site to private, changing the visibility settings will make it public again.

3. Will unpublishing my site affect my SEO ranking?

Unpublishing your site can affect your SEO ranking if your site is unavailable for an extended period. Disabling indexing will remove your site from search engines, which can lead to a drop in rankings.

4. How long does it take for search engines to remove my site after I disable indexing?

It can take a few days to weeks for search engines to stop indexing your site after you disable it. The exact time frame depends on the frequency of crawls by different search engines.

5. Can I unpublish a WordPress site without losing my content?

Absolutely! Unpublishing your WordPress site using the methods described will hide your content from public view while keeping it safe. Always back up your site before making any changes to avoid any accidental data loss.