How to delete or edit an existing article
Learn how to make corrections to published articles and how to safely delete content from your site.
Updating your content is just as important as writing new articles. Whether it’s correcting a spelling mistake or completely removing an old post, WordPress lets you manage your list of posts in just a few seconds.
Edit an existing article
If you want to change the text, title, or photo in an article that is already live:
- From the left-hand menu in WordPress, click on Articles (Posts) -> All Articles (All Posts).
- Find the article you want from the list. Hover your mouse over its title and click the option Edit.
- Make any changes you'd like to the text, categories, or featured image on the right.
- Once you're done, click the blue button Update located in the upper-right corner of the screen to save your changes.
If you just want to change an article's category or author, or quickly edit its title, you don't need to open the entire page. In the list of articles, click Quick Edit below the title. A small menu will open on the same screen; make the change and tap Update.
[ Screenshot: The list of articles with the “Edit,” “Quick Edit,” and “Trash” options appearing on hover ]
Deleting an Article (Moving to Deleted)
If an article is no longer needed on your website, you can delete it:
- On the list All Articles, locate the article you want to delete.
- Hover your mouse over the title and click the red option Delete (Trash / Recycle Bin).
- The post will be immediately removed from your blog and moved to the Trash.
[ Screenshot: The “Trash” filter at the top of the article panel, where deleted items are temporarily stored ]
Permanent deletion or restoration
WordPress never permanently deletes a post on the first try, protecting you from mistakes:
- If you change your mind about deleting something, click the link Deleted (Trash) located above the list of articles.
- Hover your mouse over the article and click Restore to return to the site, or Delete Permanently if you want it to be completely removed from the database.
When you permanently delete an article that has been on your site for a long time, Google has already cached it. If someone clicks on the link from the search results, they will see a blank error page. “404 Not Found”, which damages your site’s reputation on Google. If you absolutely must delete an article, contact Skynetix so we can set up a **301 Redirect** so that anyone who clicks on the old link is automatically redirected to your homepage or to a relevant, active article.
Do you have a backlog of old articles that need to be «cleaned up»?;
Deleting a large number of articles without technical supervision can ruin your site’s search engine rankings. At Skynetix, we offer **SEO Content Audit & Redirection Management** services. We’ll review which of your older articles are still driving traffic (so we can update them instead of deleting them) and safely implement all necessary 301 redirects, ensuring that Google will never «penalize» you for broken links!
