Why is my desired domain name not showing up again?

  • Unknown's avatar
    pitviperofdoom · Member ·

    I made the mistake years ago of migrating my Tumblr to WordPress which saddled me with 9000+ posts. I’ve been wanting to wipe it clean and start over with the same URL, so I deleted it wholesale I wouldn’t have to go through 400 pages of posts deleting them a chunk at a time. But then I tried to recreate the site with the same URL, and it says it’s unavailable and keeps sticking random numbers at the end, even though when I go to the original URL it says it’s deleted.

    Should I just wait a bit to see if it sorts itself out? Did someone somehow snag my obscure domain name in the 2 minutes between deleting it and starting over?

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    staartmees · Member ·

    When you deleted that site it was very clearly stated the wordpress.com subdomain would be locked for eternity, meaning: nobody would ever be able to use it again.

  • Unknown's avatar
    dhananjaykuber · Member ·

    When you delete a WordPress.com site, the subdomain (yoursite.wordpress.com) gets locked forever. This is a strict policy to prevent domain squatting and impersonation issues. That’s why WordPress.com keeps suggesting alternatives with random numbers – it’s trying to offer you available options since your original name is now unavailable https://wordpress.com/support/delete-site/

    However, you may have one option if you act quickly:

    If you deleted your site within the last 30 days, you can restore it! Here’s how:

    1. Go to https://wordpress.com/sites?status=deleted
    2. Look for your deleted site
    3. Click “Restore site”
    4. Once restored, instead of deleting it, use the Reset feature to wipe all your posts clean while keeping your URL

    This way you get to start fresh with the same domain name you want!

    If it’s been more than 30 days, unfortunately the subdomain is gone for good. Your options would be:

    • Choose a new subdomain variation
    • Register a custom domain (like yoursite.com) to use with WordPress.com

    Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions about the restore process.

  • Unknown's avatar
    pitviperofdoom · Member ·

    Thank you!

    It’s been less than thirty days, but the link you gave isn’t showing me my deleted stories, it’s just showing my regular Sites page.

  • mpriyatt · Staff ·

    Alright. Here is an alternative way to access your deleted sites (if it is deleted within the last 30 days).

    1. Go to https://wordpress.com/sites
    2. Use the filter on the top – Click on it and choose Deleted (right next to the search box)
    3. Choose “Yes” from the options that appear below

      This should bring up all the deleted sites in the last 30 days. If you are still not able to see any sites there, it probably means your site was deleted before and is not recoverable anymore.
    4. If it’s been more than 30 days, unfortunately the subdomain is gone for good. Your options would be: Choose a new subdomain variation or Register a custom domain (like yoursite.com) to use with WordPress.com

      Let me know if you have any questions.
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