How to Delete Squarespace Website

Before You Delete: What to Back Up

Once a Squarespace website is deleted, you cannot recover it. Before taking any action, export and save everything you might need in the future.

Export Your Site Content

Go to Settings > Advanced > Import/Export and click Export. Squarespace generates an XML file containing your blog posts, pages, and basic content. Download and save this file. Note that the export does not include images, products, custom code, or design settings - those need to be backed up separately.

Download Your Images and Files

Go through every page on your site and download any images, PDFs, or other files you uploaded. Squarespace does not include a bulk image export tool, so you need to download each file individually or use a browser extension to batch-download images from each page.

Save Your Custom Code

If you added custom CSS, JavaScript, or HTML through Code Injection or Code Blocks, copy all of it to a text file. Go to Design > Custom CSS and copy everything. Then check Settings > Advanced > Code Injection and copy the header and footer code. Finally, open any Code Blocks on your pages and copy their contents. For reference on where Squarespace stores custom code, our guide to adding custom code to Squarespace covers every injection point.

Export Commerce Data

If you have a Squarespace store, export your product catalog, order history, and customer data. Go to Commerce > Orders and export as CSV. Do the same for Commerce > Customers. For products, go to Commerce > Inventory and export. Save all CSV files in a dedicated folder.

Transfer or Disconnect Your Domain

If you have a custom domain registered through Squarespace or connected from a third-party registrar, handle it before deleting the site. For Squarespace-registered domains, transfer the domain to another registrar before deletion - otherwise you may lose access to it during the deletion grace period. For third-party domains, update the DNS settings to point away from Squarespace before deleting the site.

How to Cancel Your Squarespace Subscription

Canceling your subscription is different from deleting your site. When you cancel, your site goes into an expired state - it is no longer live on the internet, but the content remains on Squarespace's servers for a limited recovery window (typically 30 days on annual plans). During this window, you can reactivate by re-subscribing.

Step 1: Go to Account Settings

Log in to your Squarespace account and navigate to the site you want to cancel. Click Settings in the left navigation, then select Billing & Account (or Account & Billing depending on your interface version).

Step 2: Cancel Your Subscription

Click Cancel Subscription or Cancel Plan. Squarespace will ask you to confirm and may offer a discount to stay. If you are certain you want to cancel, proceed through the confirmation steps. Your site will remain accessible until the end of your current billing period.

Step 3: Wait for the Billing Period to End

After canceling, your site stays live until your current billing cycle ends. After that, the site goes offline but remains in an expired state for the recovery window. You can reactivate during this period by logging in and re-subscribing.

How to Permanently Delete a Squarespace Website

If you want to remove a site completely - not just cancel the subscription - you need to delete the site from your account. This action is permanent and cannot be undone.

Go to Settings > Advanced > Delete Site (the exact path may vary by interface version). Squarespace will warn you that this action is permanent and ask you to type your site's URL to confirm. Once confirmed, the site and all its content are permanently removed from Squarespace's servers.

Before clicking the final delete button, double-check that you have exported everything from the backup checklist above. There is no recovery option after permanent deletion.

What Happens After You Delete a Squarespace Site

Content is gone. All pages, blog posts, images, products, and design settings are permanently deleted. Squarespace does not keep backups of deleted sites.

Your domain needs a new home. If you used a Squarespace-registered domain, it needs to be transferred before deletion or it may become inaccessible. Third-party domains simply stop resolving to your Squarespace site and need to be pointed to a new hosting provider.

Your URL stops working. Any links pointing to your site from search engines, social media, or other websites will return a 404 error. If SEO is important to you and you are moving to a new site, set up 301 redirects at the domain level before deleting. For SEO considerations when making major site changes, our Squarespace SEO guide covers redirect strategies.

Email integrations disconnect. Any email marketing connections, form submissions, and third-party integrations tied to the deleted site will stop working immediately.

Alternatives to Deleting Your Squarespace Site

Redesign instead of delete. If you are unhappy with your site's look but want to keep the content, consider redesigning rather than starting over. Squarespace lets you change templates and restructure pages without losing your existing content. Our guide to customizing your Squarespace website covers the redesign process.

Set the site to private. If you want to take your site offline temporarily without deleting it, change the site visibility to Private under Settings > Site Visibility. This hides the site from visitors while preserving all content.

Downgrade your plan. If cost is the issue, consider downgrading to a lower Squarespace plan rather than deleting entirely. You keep your content and can upgrade again later when you are ready. For design strategies that work on any budget, our Squarespace design tips guide covers maximizing impact with minimal resources.

Delete Carefully - or Choose a Better Alternative

Deleting a Squarespace website is a permanent action that removes everything you built. Before you click that button, make sure you have exported your content, downloaded your images, saved your custom code, transferred your domain, and considered whether a redesign, privacy setting, or plan downgrade might be a better path forward.

If deletion is the right choice, follow the backup checklist above and confirm that you have everything you need. Once the site is gone, it is gone - and the ten minutes you spend backing up now can save hours of rebuilding later.