How to Delete Experience Cloud Site in Salesforce
Last updated: February 17, 2026
Salesforce Experience Cloud is widely used by organizations on Salesforce CRM to manage their business operations serving as the optimal method to connect with external audiences through a visually appealing portal linked to all Salesforce data.
Quick answer:
You can’t truly delete experience cloud site in salesforce the way you delete a record. In Salesforce, you typically deactivate a site (make it inaccessible) and then archive it. Later, you can unarchive and reactivate it if needed.
Companies may have up to 100 different Salesforce communities within the same org for various purposes, whether it’s a Salesforce customer portal, a Salesforce partner community, or a member and fundraising site.
However, there are instances where starting fresh with a new site becomes necessary, requiring the deletion of the previous one. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with instructions on how to deactivate and activate a digital experience site on Salesforce.
Deactivate vs Archive vs Unarchive
| Action | What Happens | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Deactivate | Site becomes inaccessible to users, but admins can still manage it in Builder and Workspaces. | Temporarily disable access or prepare a site for archiving. |
| Archive | Site is removed from active site limits (including the 100-site limit). URL becomes inaccessible. Builder and Workspaces access are restricted. | Retire a site while preserving configuration and content. |
| Unarchive | Site is restored to the org but remains inactive until reactivated. Admins regain access. | Restore a previously archived site for reuse or updates. |
Step-by-step: How to Delete Experience Cloud Site in Salesforce (Deactivating & Archiving)
Want to use Salesforce and delete Experience Cloud site in salesforce? The most important thing you need to know is that you cannot delete a community from Salesforce. Instead, you can make it inactive and close any access, by deactivating and archiving your experience site.
To archive your Salesforce community, you need to deactivate it first.
Please, take into account, when you archive a site,
- The site’s URL becomes inaccessible to all users, including administrators. Users will be directed to a “Site under maintenance” page instead of the site.
- Access to the site’s Experience Builder or Workspaces is restricted.
- The site doesn’t count against your organization’s maximum 100 unarchived site limit
- You can always unarchive a site in the future if you need to.
You cannot archive an inactive site that is in Preview status. Activate and then deactivate the site before you archive it.
How to Deactivate a Salesforce Community
To deactivate the site on Experience Cloud:
- Go to Workspaces > Administration > Settings.
- Press the “Deactivate” button.
The site becomes inaccessible to users, and the public URL no longer loads the experience.
How do I Archive an Experience Site in Salesforce?
To archive the Experience Cloud site:
- Go to App Launcher on your internal org.
- Access Salesforce CMS (Digital Experiences) using the App Launcher.
- Navigate to the All Sites tab to view a list of all Experience Cloud sites within your organization.
- Select the name of the site you’d like to archive.
- Once on the site detail page, click on the Archive option.
- Confirm the archiving process by clicking Archive again.
That’s it! The site moves to the Archived Sites list and no longer counts toward active site limits.
Planning a new Experience Cloud site?
If you need assistance with Experience Cloud, including migration, redesign, or managed services, please reach out to our team. We are always happy to help.
How to Unarchive a Community Site?
So, now you know how to deactivate an Experience Cloud site. Let’s explore how to restore it when archived:
- Access Salesforce CMS (Digital Experiences) using the App Launcher.
- Navigate to the All Sites tab, then switch to the “Archived sites” tab to view all archived sites in your org.
- Select the name of the site you’d like to unarchive.
- Once on the site detail page, click the “Unarchive” option.
- Confirm the unarchiving process by clicking “Unarchive” again.
When you unarchive a site, the site’s URL becomes available only to admins. To make it accessible to everyone, you need to activate it.
Need help?
If you need any Experience Cloud implementation assistance, the Advanced Communities team is ready to help. We support migrations, redesigns, governance setup, and performance optimization across all Experience Cloud environments. Contact us today.
FAQ
1. How do I unpublish an experience site in Salesforce?
You cannot delete or unpublish a site referenced for a community, particularly if it includes Force.com or Sites.com in the domain name. However, you can mark it as inactive to restrict access for everyone.
2. How do I publish an experience site in Salesforce?
In Experience Builder, take a look at your site to check if it looks the way you want. If everything is good, click the Publish button on the toolbar to make your changes live. 
3. How do I delete an Experience Builder in Salesforce?
You can’t delete an Experience Builder from your Experience Cloud platform as this is the main tool used for building communities in Salesforce. You use Experience Builder’s drag-and-drop logic and customization capabilities to easily create and brand sites on top of Salesforce.
