> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://buttercms.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deleting content

> Learn how to delete different types of content in ButterCMS and what happens after deletion — including impacts on referenced content.

<Warning>
  **Permanent Action:** Deleting content in ButterCMS is permanent. Once deleted, content cannot be recovered. Always double-check before confirming deletion.
</Warning>

## Deleting Blog Posts

To delete a Blog Post:

1. Open the blog post you want to delete
2. Click on the **red delete button** at the top right
3. Confirm the deletion

{/* IMAGE_SOURCE: file_path="knowledge-base/how-to/how-to-create-modify-and-delete-blog-posts.md" */}

![Delete Blog Post](https://cdn.buttercms.com/DgfWCzfbTkSJoKzRByC8)

<Warning>
  Once a Blog Post is deleted, you will **not** be able to recover it. Make sure you have any content backed up if needed before deleting.
</Warning>

## Deleting Pages

To delete a Page:

1. Navigate to the Page you want to delete
2. Click on the ellipsis button (three dots) in the upper-right corner
3. Select **Delete** from the dropdown menu
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted

### Single Pages vs Page Type Pages

* **Single Pages:** Can be deleted individually
* **Page Type Pages:** Can be deleted individually; deleting doesn't affect other pages of the same type
* **Page Types themselves:** Deleting a Page Type removes the template but may not delete all associated pages (check your specific workflow)

## Deleting Collection items

To delete a Collection item:

1. Navigate to your Collection
2. Find the item you want to delete
3. Click on the ellipsis button (three dots) next to the item
4. Select **Delete** from the dropdown menu
5. Confirm the deletion

### Bulk deletion

You can also delete multiple Collection items at once:

1. Select multiple items using the checkboxes
2. Use the bulk action menu to delete selected items
3. Confirm the deletion

## Permission requirements

Not everyone can delete content. Here's who has deletion permissions:

| Role          | Can delete Blog Posts | Can delete Pages | Can delete Collections |
| ------------- | --------------------- | ---------------- | ---------------------- |
| **Author**    | ❌ No                  | ❌ No             | ❌ No                   |
| **Publisher** | ✅ Yes                 | ✅ Yes            | ✅ Yes                  |
| **Admin**     | ✅ Yes                 | ✅ Yes            | ✅ Yes                  |

<Info>
  **Localization Note:** Only Admins can delete Pages and Collection items if localization is enabled on your account.
</Info>

## Unpublishing vs. deleting

Consider whether you actually need to delete content, or if unpublishing would be more appropriate:

| Action        | Result                                                          | Recoverable?          |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| **Unpublish** | Content is removed from your live site but remains in ButterCMS | ✅ Yes - can republish |
| **Delete**    | Content is permanently removed from ButterCMS                   | ❌ No - permanent      |

### When to unpublish instead

* Seasonal content you'll use again
* Content that needs major revisions
* Testing content temporarily removed from production
* Content under review for compliance issues

### When to delete

* Duplicate content that shouldn't exist
* Test content that's no longer needed
* Outdated content with no archival value
* Content created in error

## SEO considerations

Deleting content from your website needs to be done with your team's SEO strategy in mind.

**Why does your SEO strategy matter when removing content?**

When you delete content that has been indexed by search engines:

* **Broken links:** External sites linking to your content will lead to 404 errors
* **Lost rankings:** Any search engine rankings for that content will be lost
* **User experience:** Visitors following old links will encounter error pages

### Best practices for SEO-safe deletion

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Set up redirects">
    Work with your development team to set up 301 redirects for deleted URLs to their relevant replacements. This preserves link equity and improves the user experience.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Update internal links">
    Before deleting, search your content for internal links to the page being deleted and update them to point to alternative content.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Consider consolidation">
    Instead of deleting underperforming content, consider consolidating it into more comprehensive pages that can rank better.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Check analytics first">
    Review your analytics to determine whether the content is receiving traffic. Even old content may drive valuable visits.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Update your sitemap">
    After deletion, ensure your sitemap is updated to remove references to deleted pages.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What happens when content is deleted

### Immediate effects

| Effect           | Description                                                   |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **API Response** | Deleted content immediately stops returning from API calls    |
| **Live Site**    | Content disappears from your website (if using ButterCMS API) |
| **Dashboard**    | Content is removed from your ButterCMS dashboard              |
| **Media**        | Associated media files remain in your Media Library           |

### Things that are not deleted

* **Media files:** Images and files used in deleted content remain in your Media Library
* **Authors:** Deleting a blog post doesn't delete the associated author
* **Categories/Tags:** These remain even if all content using them is deleted
* **Page Types:** Deleting all pages of a type doesn't delete the Page Type itself

<Tip>
  After deleting content, you may want to clean up unused media files in your Media Library to keep things organized.
</Tip>

## Alternatives to deletion

Before deleting, consider these alternatives:

| Alternative            | Use case                                                           |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Unpublish**          | Remove from live site but keep in ButterCMS for future use         |
| **Schedule Unpublish** | Automatically remove from site at a future date                    |
| **Archive Tag**        | Add an "archived" tag/category and filter it out of your live site |
| **Draft Status**       | Revert to draft to remove from live site while preserving content  |

## Team coordination

<Info>
  **Team Presence Feature**

  Before deleting content, check if any team members are currently editing it. ButterCMS's [team presence](../collaborating-with-teams/team-presence#what-is-team-presence) feature shows when others are viewing the same content, helping you avoid accidentally deleting something someone else is working on.
</Info>

### Deletion workflow tips

1. **Communicate with your team** before deleting shared content
2. **Check for references** in other content that link to what you're deleting
3. **Document deletions** if you have a content governance process
4. **Review with stakeholders** for important or high-traffic content