Retire WordPress®
Updated
Once your site is live on WranglePress, you don't have to keep WordPress at all. Retiring it means the site stays online exactly as it was at its last build, served from Cloudflare, while you cancel the hosting for WordPress. There's no WordPress, PHP or plugin left to update, patch or pay for.
Is it right for this site?
| Retire WordPress if… | Keep WordPress (private) if… |
|---|---|
| The site rarely or never changes | You publish posts or edit pages regularly |
| Nobody maintains it anymore | Your form plugin's saved entries, CRM or Mailchimp links matter |
| You want to stop paying for its hosting | You want changes to go live by themselves |
You can change your mind later: if a retired site needs an update, restore WordPress from your backup (step 2), point WranglePress at it and build again.
Before you start
- The site is live on WranglePress, and you've checked it in a private browser window.
- The newest build looks right. That's the version that will stay online. If you've made recent changes in WordPress, click Build now, check the result, and make sure it's the live build.
1. Switch forms to email mode
In the site's Settings, set Forms to Email submissions to me and save. Forward mode sends submissions to WordPress, which won't be there anymore. Then send a test message through each form on your live domain.
2. Make a full backup of WordPress
Keep a copy of the files and the database somewhere safe, so you can bring the site back for changes. Most hosts offer a download in their control panel; plugins like UpdraftPlus or All-in-One WP Migration can do it too. Keep the backup even after you cancel the hosting.
3. Download a copy of the site
Under Download a copy on the site page, prepare and download a ZIP of the live build, and keep it with your backup. See Download your site.
4. Switch WordPress off
- Cancel the hosting, or delete the WordPress site from it.
- Leave your domain where it is, and don't touch its DNS records: the domain must keep pointing at WranglePress, and its email (MX) records keep working as before.
- If WordPress used a
wp.address, you can delete that DNS record.
5. Check the site
Open your domain in a private browser window, click through a few pages and send a test form.
What changes after retiring
- The site doesn't change by itself anymore. There's nothing to rebuild from. Don't click Build now: with WordPress gone, the build fails, and the live site stays as it is.
- You can still edit it here. Turn on editing on WranglePress to change text, pictures, links and pages, in the dashboard or with your AI assistant.
- Rollback still works to any earlier build.
- Your plan still counts the site, because WranglePress is now the only thing serving it.
Bringing WordPress back
Restore your backup on any WordPress host, update WordPress address in the site's Settings to where it now lives, and click Build now. To keep editing from then on, follow Make WordPress private.