Many Shopify store owners eventually come to a point where they want to delete or close their online store for various reasons. However, some find that the process to delete a Shopify store is not straightforward. Shopify does not include an obvious “delete store” button, which leaves some users wondering why they can’t easily remove their store.
Is there a way to delete my Shopify store?
Yes, it is possible to delete a Shopify store, but Shopify does not make the process very simple. There are a few steps that need to be completed before you can fully delete a Shopify store.
Step 1: Cancel your Shopify plan
The first step is to cancel your active Shopify subscription plan. This can be done by going to your Shopify admin, clicking on Billing, and then selecting Cancel Plan. You need to cancel any active plan before deleting the store. Shopify will try to get you to remain an active customer by offering a downgrade option to a cheaper plan, but you need to fully cancel the plan if you want to delete the store.
Step 2: Remove payment information
Next, with the plan cancelled, you need to remove any saved payment information for your account like a saved credit card. This ensures you won’t get charged for another plan in the future. You can remove saved cards under Payment Methods in the Shopify admin.
Step 3: Delete themes and apps
Shopify requires any paid themes and apps to be deleted before deleting a store. You may need to contact the theme or app developer directly to have them manually remove the add-on from your store if you are unable to delete it yourself.
Step 4: Delete domain
If you purchased a custom domain for your Shopify store, you need to delete this domain before being able to delete the store. Domains can be deleted from the Domains section of the Shopify admin. The domain needs to be completely detached from your store.
Step 5: Back up important data
Shopify will wipe all store data once the deletion process is complete, so you want to make sure to back up anything important first. This may include things like customer information, order history, product catalogs, and images/videos.
Step 6: Contact Shopify support
After completing the previous steps, you need to contact Shopify support directly and request your store to be deleted. There is no self-service delete option. You need to open a support ticket asking the support team to delete your shop. They will then guide you through the final steps of the deletion process.
Why does Shopify make it difficult to delete a store?
There are a few reasons why Shopify does not have a straightforward store deletion process:
They want to retain customers
Shopify is a business, and it’s in their best interest to retain as many paying customers as possible. By making store deletion an inconvenient process with many steps, some store owners may be persuaded to keep their store open longer or downgrade plans rather than go through the hassle of getting the store deleted.
Legal obligations
Shopify has certain legal obligations it needs to fulfill before deleting all of your store data. For example, tax information may need to be retained for a certain period of time. Having a required support process allows them to ensure they have met requirements before store removal.
Security
Requiring direct support contact helps ensure only the store owner can delete a shop. This adds security to prevent unauthorized deletions by third parties who may gain access to an account.
Upselling closure services
Shopify also offers paid services to help store owners properly close up shop. The difficult deletion process motivates some owners to pay for help completing all the required steps to remove a store and its data.
Steps Shopify takes when deleting a store
When a store owner contacts support to request store deletion, there are a number of steps Shopify takes on their end to close and remove the shop:
Canceling subscriptions
Shopify will double check that all active subscriptions and plans have been properly cancelled for the store before proceeding with deletion.
Removing integrations
Any third-party integrations connected to the store, such as sales channels, marketplace connections, or apps will be disconnected.
Detaching domains
If any custom domains or secondary domains are still attached to the store, Shopify will detach and remove them.
Deleting data
Shopify will then delete all sales history, customer information, order data, and other store-related data. However, some data may be retained for legal compliance purposes.
Removing site files
All theme files, images, videos, and other assets uploaded to the store will be removed from Shopify servers.
Closing accounts
Finally, after all data and assets are removed, the actual store account will be closed permanently.
Do I lose my domain when deleting my Shopify store?
No, you do not lose control of your custom domain when deleting a Shopify store, as long as you properly detach it first. Before being able to delete your store, Shopify requires any custom domains to be removed. This transfers full control of the domain back to you rather than Shopify.
However, until you detach the domain, it is controlled by Shopify and tied specifically to your store. If you delete the store without properly removing the domain first, then the domain would be lost along with the store deletion.
Can I delete just parts of my Shopify store?
Shopify does not allow store owners to selectively delete certain parts of a store while keeping other parts. The deletion process is all or nothing. You cannot, for example, just remove certain products or delete customer data while keeping your store active.
The only partial deletion that Shopify allows is removal of things like themes, apps, and domains. But the store itself, along with all its data, must be deleted together once you request full account removal.
Is it better to deactivate my store instead?
Rather than completely deleting a Shopify store, some owners may prefer to simply deactivate an existing store. This can be done from the Store Availability section of the Shopify admin.
Deactivating a store takes it offline so customers can no longer access it. However, all the store data, info, and back-end access remains intact for the owner. The store can easily be reactivated again if desired.
This may be a better intermediate option if you think you may want to revive your Shopify store at some point in the future. Deletion is permanent, while deactivation offers more flexibility.
Can I get a refund if I delete my Shopify store?
If you prepaid for an annual subscription plan, Shopify will not offer any refund when you request to delete your store, even for unused portions of a prepaid subscription.
However, if you are on a monthly subscription, you simply need to cancel at the end of your current billing cycle, and you will not be charged again. There are no cancellation fees to stop monthly plans.
Shopify will also not refund any charges related to add-ons like themes, apps, or transaction fees after a store has been deleted. You are responsible for any fees accrued while the store was still active.
Is it possible to reactivate a deleted Shopify store?
Unfortunately, once a Shopify store has been fully deleted at your request, there is no way to reactivate or reinstate that exact store. The store deletion is a permanent action, so the store cannot be recovered.
However, there is nothing stopping you from creating a brand new store account and essentially starting over from scratch. You would just lose all previous store history and data that was deleted unless you had backups.
What happens to my Shopify domain after deletion?
If you purchased a custom domain through Shopify, it will no longer be attached to your store after deletion. However, the domain itself will still be under your ownership and available for your use.
You have a couple options with Shopify domains after store deletion:
Point it to a new website
You can have the domain redirected to a different website or hosted content once detached from your old Shopify store.
Sell it
Alternatively, you can sell your Shopify domain to another owner if you no longer need that particular domain name.
Allow it to expire
Or you can simply let the domain registration lapse, and it will become available for someone else to purchase once expired.
As long as you properly detach the domain before deleting your Shopify store, it will remain under your full ownership and control.
Is deleting my Shopify store the best option?
Before going through the permanent store deletion process, make sure it is truly the best course of action for you. There may be some other options to consider first:
Keep it deactivated
As mentioned above, you can simply deactivate your store to make it inaccessible rather than full deleting it. This preserves the ability to reactivate later.
Sell your business
You may be able to sell your existing Shopify store and transfer ownership to a new owner instead of deleting it.
Hire help
Consider hiring a Shopify expert to revive your store by improving its performance rather than giving up entirely.
Depending on your specific situation and reasons for wanting to delete, one of these alternative options may end up being your best solution. Evaluate them before making the permanent decision to delete your store.
Conclusion
Deleting a Shopify store is a bit more involved than simply clicking a “delete” button. There are several required steps store owners must complete before Shopify will remove the store account and all associated data.
The process is designed to be inconvenient to deter store owners from deleting on a whim and to allow Shopify to take necessary security precautions during removal. With some patience and effort, store owners can permanently delete their Shopify stores when desired.
Owners should be sure to cancel subscriptions, remove integrations, back up data, and contact support to initiate the removal process. While inconvenient, following the proper steps will allow you to successfully delete your Shopify store account.
