Set disused site to private

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  atelierdaran2e92a17825 · Member · Apr 21, 2026 at 12:16 pm

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  I run a non-profit which has an ancient WordPress site that is no longer relevant. I would like to delete it but I have no login information and no idea who originally created it. The WordPress chat bot said I could not delete it in this case. But it suggested I could ask for the site to be set to private so that I would no longer be visible or searchable. Is this so? If it is, how can I go about this?

  The domain name is : https://atelierdaran.wordpress.com

  I DO have access to the email address listed as contact address on the site : (email visible only to moderators and staff)

  Thanks for any input,

  Simon

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  benitoalba · Member · Apr 21, 2026 at 4:05 pm

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  Hi @atelierdaran2e92a17825,

  Yes, that’s correct.

  I’ve tagged the thread for you so you don’t need to do anything further — staff will pick it up from the queue.

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  atelierdaran2e92a17825 · Member · Apr 21, 2026 at 8:32 pm

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  Thanks @benitoalba !

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  elcristofue · Staff · Apr 22, 2026 at 10:36 am

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  Hi @atelierdaran2e92a17825! Thanks for letting us know about this.
  
  If I understand correctly, you’d like to make your old site no longer accessible to the public, is that right?

  If so, the first step is to complete the account recovery process by following this guide:

  https://wordpress.com/support/account-recovery/verify-ownership/#account-recovery-form

  There, you’ll find the information needed to verify ownership of the account. Once you’ve regained access to your account, you’ll be able to set your site to private or delete it if you’d like.

  If you’re unable to complete the recovery process, you can also email us at help@wordpress.com to request that the site be made private, as explained here:

  https://wordpress.com/support/account-recovery/verify-ownership/#if-ownership-cannot-be-established

  Let us know if you have any questions or need a hand with any of this. We’re here to help.