How to Unpublish a WordPress Page (4 Simple Ways)

Do you want to unpublish a page on your WordPress site? Sometimes, you may want to edit a page in private or even delete that page from your website completely. Other times, you may want to hide a page from a specific group of users.

In this article, we will show you how you can easily unpublish a WordPress page, step-by-step.

Why Unpublish a WordPress Page?

When you are building a WordPress website, you publish pages so that visitors can see them.

However, there may be times when you want to unpublish a page so it‘s no longer visible to the people who visit your website.

For example, maybe you want to take your WordPress blog in a new direction. You may have even accidentally published a draft and need to unpublish it.

Over time, a post may also become outdated or no longer relevant. Many website owners archive old posts or add an "old post" notification to the page header. However, if you plan to update the post in the future, then it‘s a good idea to unpublish it instead. That way, it remains in the dashboard as a draft that you can edit.

With that said, let‘s take a look at a few different ways you can unpublish a page on your WordPress website.

The Potential SEO Impacts of Unpublishing Pages

Before diving into the various methods for unpublishing WordPress pages, it‘s important to be aware of the potential SEO impacts.

As an experienced webmaster, I‘ve seen firsthand how removing pages from a live site can negatively affect search engine rankings if not handled properly. Here are some key risks to watch out for:

• Broken backlinks – External sites linking to that page will result in 404 errors, which Google dislikes. This can hurt your overall domain authority.
• Drop in keyword rankings – If the unpublished page ranked well for valuable keywords, those rankings could be lost.
• Traffic decline – Visitors coming from search engines or external links will no longer be able to access the content.

However, there are ways to mitigate the SEO damage when unpublishing pages:

• 301 redirect – Forward the URL to relevant content so link juice isn‘t lost.
• Update internal links – Anywhere that page was linked to on your site should be changed to avoid dead ends.
• Gradual unpublishing – First make the page private, allow time for links to update, then unpublish.

According to Moz data, 301 redirects can retain 99% of link equity. So be sure to do them wherever possible when unpublishing pages.

Overall, weigh the SEO pros and cons before unpublishing. There are definitely cases where removing content improves a site. Just take care to preserve existing equity and avoid abruptly breaking links.

Video Tutorial

Here is a quick video showing you how to unpublish a WordPress page:

[Embed video tutorial]

If you‘d prefer written instructions, then just keep reading.

4 Ways to Unpublish a WordPress Page

There are a few different ways you can unpublish pages on your WordPress site. Here are the top 4 methods compared:

Method	Pros	Cons	Use Cases
Switch to Draft	Quick and easy	Still publicly accessible by direct URL	Temporarily hiding a page for edits
Make Private	Restrict by user roles	Does not remove from menus/searches	Limit access for staging or testing
Password Protect	Custom access control	Extra login step for users	Create members-only areas
Members Only	Granular access levels	Requires membership plugin	Content gating, paid subscriptions

Based on your specific needs, one approach may be better than others. Let‘s look at how to implement each step-by-step.

Method 1: Unpublishing a Single WordPress Page (Quick and Easy)

Unpublishing a page removes it from your website while still leaving you the option to edit the page and republish it later.

The easiest method is to simply switch the page to a draft. Visitors won‘t be able to see the page, but it‘ll still appear as a draft in the WordPress dashboard. If you‘ve noticed errors on the page or want to improve the content, then this is a great option.

Step 1: Edit the Page

To turn a published page into a draft, go to Pages » All Pages. Here, hover over the page and then click the ‘Edit‘ link when it appears.

This will bring you to the page editor screen.

Step 2: Click "Switch to Draft"

Here, click the ‘Switch to draft’ button at the top of the page.

This brings up a popup asking whether you are sure you want to unpublish the post.

Step 3: Confirm Unpublishing

Removing a live post from your site can cause broken links and may affect your WordPress SEO, so you’ll want to think about this carefully.

If you are happy to unpublish the post, then go ahead and click on the ‘OK’ button.

This will turn the live post into a draft.

And that‘s it! The page is now unpublished and only visible as a draft in your dashboard.

Method 2: Unpublishing Multiple WordPress Pages

If you are redesigning or moving a website to a new domain, then you might have lots of pages you no longer need.

Instead of unpublishing each page individually, you can unpublish or delete them all at once using the bulk actions tool.

Here‘s how:

Step 1: Select the Pages

Go to Pages » All Pages and check the box next to all the pages you want to unpublish.

Step 2: Choose "Edit" from the Bulk Actions Menu

Next, click the ‘Bulk actions’ dropdown and select ‘Edit’.

Then, click on ‘Apply’.

Step 3: Update the Status to "Draft"

On the bulk edit page, open the ‘Status’ dropdown and select ‘Draft.’

Then, click on the ‘Update’ button to unpublish all the selected pages.

That‘s it, the pages are now unpublished en masse!

For even more bulk actions like deleting pages, check out my guide on [how to use bulk actions in WordPress].

Method 3: Making a WordPress Page Private or Password Protected

Password protecting a page allows you to keep certain areas of your WordPress blog private.

This can be helpful if you want to create a separate area of your website for co-workers or members. It can also be useful if you want to limit access for staging or testing purposes.

Here are the steps to password protect or privatize a page:

Step 1: Edit the Page Visibility

First, open the page that you want to password-protect. Then, click on the ‘Public’ button next to ‘Visibility.’

Step 2: Toggle to "Password Protected" or "Private"

For password protection, select the ‘Password Protected’ button and type a secure password.

To make the page private, select the ‘Private‘ visibility setting instead.

Step 3: Save the Changes

With your new visibility set, click ‘Update’ to save your changes.

Now, access will be limited according to your selected settings.

For more advanced access control, a membership plugin like MemberPress is recommended.

Method 4: Making a WordPress Page Members Only

If you have a membership site, then you can hide a page based on the user‘s membership level.

This allows granular access control and can even support paid subscriptions.

Why Use MemberPress for Members-Only Pages?

The best way to make pages members-only is with the MemberPress plugin.

MemberPress is the leading WordPress membership plugin. It lets you:

• Create multiple subscription packages
• Set access permissions by content type
• Restrict access to pages by membership level
• Accept payments and recurring subscriptions

In my experience building dozens of member sites, MemberPress provides the most powerful and flexible solution.

How to Make Pages Member-Only

Here‘s an overview of how to configure members-only pages with MemberPress:

1. Install MemberPress – Add the plugin via your WordPress dashboard and activate it.

2. Set Up Subscription Plans – Create the membership levels you want, with pricing and access permissions.

3. Publish Exclusive Content – Add pages, posts, custom post types, etc. that only members can see.

4. Set Visibility Restrictions – On the content edit screen, limit access to certain member levels.

And that‘s it! Users must subscribe to view that gated content.

For full details, see my complete MemberPress setup guide here [link to guide].

Troubleshooting Common WordPress Unpublish Issues

Unpublishing WordPress pages doesn‘t always go smoothly. Here are some common issues and ways to fix them:

Problem: Accidentally unpublished the wrong page.

Solution: If caught quickly, restore from trash. Otherwise, republish as a draft and update.

Problem: Page is still visible after unpublishing.

Solution: Clear site caches and browser cookies. Check it‘s not cached by a CDN.

Problem: Unpublished page causes 404 errors on external sites.

Solution: Set up a 301 redirect to preserve backlinks. Update any links/navigation menus.

Problem: Search engines still indexing the unpublished page.

Solution: Fetch new crawl in Search Console. robots.txt blocked if completely removing.

Problem: Stats show unpublished content is still being accessed.

Solution: May take some time for unpublish to take effect across CDNs and caches.

Hopefully these tips help you troubleshoot any issues that arise from unpublishing WordPress pages. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!

Key Takeaways

To wrap up, here are some key tips to keep in mind:

• Unpublishing removes pages from your live site, while still keeping them as drafts.

• Be mindful of potential SEO impacts like broken links and rankings drops.

• For quick edits, switch the page to draft status in the editor.

• Use bulk actions to unpublish multiple WordPress pages at once.

• Password protect or privatize pages when you want to limit visibility.

• For advanced access control, a membership plugin like MemberPress is recommended.

• Always think carefully before unpublishing pages and have a plan to minimize impacts.

I hope this detailed guide gives you all the knowledge needed to easily unpublish pages on your WordPress site! Let me know if you have any other questions.