How to Remove an Old WordPress Website
A lot can change in the four years between then and now. The world is a whole new ballgame. The language has shifted, the culture has changed, and your interests have shifted as well. The things you cared about then may not even matter anymore. Whether you’re doing this because you want to make room for the new or the shiny or because you want to simply unclutter your life a little bit, getting rid of the old can be a liberating experience.
If you’re looking to make this kind of shift, you’ve probably come across the task of ‘cleaning out’ your old website. The problem is, even after you’ve gone through all of your old content, there are still a few hiccups that can trip you up. Luckily, we’ve got you covered on this front. In this article, we will teach you the best way to correctly remove an old WordPress website so you can finally start living your life in the present moment. Let’s get started.
Find The Right Way To Delete Accounts
One of the first things you need to do is to figure out how to truly delete all of the accounts associated with your old site. This means you’ll have to take care of both your active and inactive accounts, as well as any guest accounts that might still be lurking around. Simply go to each account’s page and, in the top-right corner, you’ll see a three-line email address. Hit the DELETE key on your keyboard to delete their associated content, comments, and followers. After that’s done, you’ll see a confirmation message. At this point, you can go back and do the same thing for the other two email addresses (one for your active account, one for your inactive account). When you’re finished, you’ll have four deleted email addresses (two for each account).
Before you click the DELETE key for the last time, you might want to first clean out any old content that’s hanging around. This is especially important if you’ve published any content that you consider scandalous or inappropriate. The last thing you want to do is leave content behind that might offend your audiences or readers. Once you’ve got everything removed, it’s time to hit that DELETE key and be done with it. If you’ve ever published anything scandalous or inappropriate, you might want to consider using a service like Grav, which will allow you to quickly & legally remove any content that might be construed as a breach of privacy or libel. Alternatively, you could hire a team of professionals to manage the process for you. Don’t worry – in either case, your identity will still be fully protected, and you’ll enjoy the freedom of a blank slate.
Update Your Details
After you’ve removed all of the content and accounts from your old site, it’s time to take a minute and enter some new information into the places where it’s needed. To start, you should change your username and replace all of the “ol” with “_” or “-” in your profile’s URL. If you’ve chosen your username carefully, it will already have some meaning, and you won’t have to search for it on Dictionary.com. For example, if you’ve chosen ‘solitaire’, you’ll never have to worry about meeting someone with that same name. Now’s the perfect opportunity to choose a truly unique username that you’ll never forget. You’ll also need to update your email address and phone number, as well as any other necessary information. Entering this new information into the places where it’s needed will make the transition seamless and will give your new site the professional polish you’ve been longing for.
Take Care Of Your Domain Name
If you’re really going all the way and you want to set up a new site from scratch, you’ll need to manage your domain name’s security and renewal. To do this, you’ll need to go to your domain’s dashboard and click the security tab. From here, you can toggle the settings for your domain to remember me or to require me to verify my email address before getting access to the admin area. While you’re at it, you can lock the domain if you’re worried about someone intruding on your private space or cybersquatting. You can also set up notifications so you can keep an eye out for potential problems. After you’ve done all of this, click the AUTO-Renew tab. From here, you can choose whether you want to have your domain automatically renewed by GoDaddy or you’d rather do it yourself. If you’ve got a limited budget, you might want to consider outsourcing this task to save you the time and effort. Doing this could also prevent you from having to worry about your domain being taken over by cybercriminals. It’s a common occurrence. Hackers will often go after the low-hanging fruit first, meaning smaller websites with less resources. They want to eat away at the profitability until the host can’t afford the security services anymore. This is an often-overlooked reason to keep a close eye on your hosting bills.
Make Sure Your Content Is Where You Want It To Be
Even though you’ve removed all of the content and accounts from your old site, there’s still a chance it could pop up in the search results when someone searches for it. To avoid this, you’ll need to make sure your old content is actually deleted from the web. This can be a pain if you’re not careful, and it can take some time. If you’re feeling especially masochistic, you could use Google Cache Eraser to find every instance of your old content and remove it once and for all. This is not recommended, however, as it can seriously damage your brand if you’re not careful. Instead, use a service like CloudFLUX to ensure none of your old content shows up in the search results when someone types in your domain name. Doing this can be as simple as pointing CloudFLUX to your website’s root directory (the main directory that holds all of the files for your site) and clicking the Confirm button. Now your old content is well and truly buried, and you can feel free to get back to creating new content that’s bound to make you proud.
Get A New Design
If you’re really going all the way and you want to set up a new site from scratch, you’ll need to get a new design. To do this, visit a site like GraphicRiver and get inspired by their professionally designed templates. Once you’re done designing, it’s time to upload your content and accounts and to activate the site. When you’re ready, click the Publish button to make your site live.
Get A Professional Blogger
Even though you’ve managed to remove all of the content and accounts from your old site, there’s still a chance something could pop up in the search results. To avoid this, you’ll need to get a professional blogger to take care of your blog. To do this, visit Blogger’s professional blogging platform and get inspired by their carefully crafted templates. Once you’re done designing, it’s time to upload your content and accounts and to activate the blog. When you’re ready, click the Publish button to make your site live.
At this point, you can go back and forth between your active and inactive accounts and take care of any remaining content that needs to be removed. When you’re finished, it’s time to hit the DELETE keys for all of the junk you’ve been longing for. You’ll feel so much lighter, and you’ll enjoy the freedom of a new start. Congratulations! You’re well on your way to a brand-new WordPress experience.