Last Updated on October 20, 2023
Are you looking for a proper way to delete a SharePoint site?
The truth is, the process of deleting a site is straightforward. However, you need to make sure of some things before doing it to avoid problems in the future.
In this article, I will show you the correct way of deleting a SharePoint site and ensure you wouldn’t have to explain anything to your colleagues.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents:
- Check for site usage first
- Check for any subsites
- How to delete a site in SharePoint
- How to restore a deleted site
- Delete a site with caution
Check for site usage first
Yes, the site won’t literally be deleted right after you press a button. However, things happen, which is why you must make sure of your decision to delete the site.
If so, check first if the site has been used lately. It’s a good idea to talk with your team or colleagues and ask them about the site.
It’s also a good idea to check the site usage report.
While on the site, click on the gear icon and go to “Site contents”.
Once there, click on the “Site usage” button on the command bar.
On the site usage analytics page, you can check whether or not the site is still being actively used by your colleagues (unique viewers).
For example, on the site below, you will see that it only has one user (which makes it pretty safe to delete since I’m the only one using it for the past 30 days).
Note that for team sites with Microsoft 365 groups, the site usage analytics may not show activities on Outlook, Teams, and Planner.
Since the site usage analytics only tracks the usage on the site itself, you may not know whether or not the team uses the other apps.
In this case, it’s important that you ask the group owner or the members if they’re still using the apps and if you can delete the site.
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Check for any subsites
Don’t commit the mistake of deleting a site that has subsites being used by others.
To avoid this problem, check for any subsites first. Go back to the “Site contents” page and this time, navigate to the “Subsites” page.
You will see all the subsites on the site on this page.
Even if you can restore the site, the process might take some time if there are lots of data in it (not counting the fact you might be disrupting some work going on).
In the past, you needed to visit the “Site hierarchy” page from the “Site Settings” page. But that’s not necessary anymore because of the “Subsites” tab.
After making sure that no one is using the site anymore (if team site, then including other apps) and its subsites, then you can safely delete it from SharePoint.
Now, the steps to deleting any site in SharePoint are more or less similar, though there are some minor differences.
Let’s start with deleting a classic site:
Deleting a classic SharePoint site
To get started, click on the gear icon first and go to “Site settings”.
On the next page, check the “Site Actions” section and click “Delete this site”.
On the next page, you will read some warnings about the action. To proceed, click on the “Delete” button in the lower-right corner.
Deleting a modern team or communication site in SharePoint
For modern sites, the process is more straightforward.
Click on the gear icon and then on the “Site information” option.
On the right panel, click on the “Delete site” button near the bottom.
If you’re deleting a team site, you will see the following warning that mentions “resources including site, files, conversations, calendar, etc.”.
To proceed, check the box to confirm and then on the “Delete” button.
If you’re deleting a communication site, you will see a similar warning but without the line mentioned earlier.
To proceed, check the box to confirm and then on the “Delete” button.
Deleting a site from the SharePoint admin center
You can also delete a site from the admin center.
To get there, go to the site below but make sure to use your tenant name:
https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com/
Once there, go to the “Active sites” page and select the site you want to delete.
Then, click on the “Delete” button on the command bar to proceed.
You will then see the same delete box where you check a box and click on the “Delete” button.
How to restore a deleted site
Now, what if you deleted a site you’re not supposed to?
Fortunately, you can quickly restore a site you delete (although the actual restoration time may depend on the size of the site and the time passed when you deleted it).
Note: Sites without groups are retained in the recycle bin for 93 days. For team sites with Microsoft 365 groups, the retention is only 30 days.
To restore a site, go to your SharePoint admin center. Again, here’s the link (replace it with your tenant):
https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com/
Once you’re on the admin center, go to the “Deleted sites” page. Then, select the target site and click on the “Restore” button on the command bar.
You will then have a similar box when deleting a site. Click on the “Restore” button to proceed.
Related: How to Restore a SharePoint Page (Undoing Changes Guide)
Delete a site with caution
Deleting a site is easy. Restoring a site is also easy. But you still need to practice caution since there’s only a limited time for you to reverse this action.
Always check with your team and group owners whether or not they’re still using the site (and its associated apps and subsites).
If you find it tiring to visit a site per site, you can delete and restore a site from the SharePoint admin center.
Do you have some questions? Drop them below in the comment section so we can talk about them.
For inquiries and concerns, send me a message through my contact page and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
