Retiring a site

Retiring a site is not the same as deleting it. When you retire a site, it is gently taken offline -- visitors will see a simple message that the page is no longer available, with no further details shown. Your content, guest lists, messages, and settings are all preserved behind the scenes for 30 days.

During those 30 days, you can restore the site at any time and everything will be exactly as you left it. After 30 days, the data is permanently removed.

This means you can retire a site without worrying about losing anything permanently. If you change your mind, your site is waiting for you.

There are two ways to start the retirement process:

• From your site's Settings page, scroll to the bottom and click Retire This Site.
• From the My Sites page, click the three-dot menu on any site card and choose Retire this site.

Both options lead to the same guided process. Biraea walks you through a few steps at your own pace -- there is no countdown and no pressure to move quickly.

Biraea asks a few questions to make sure you have what you need before your site goes offline.

Step 1: Reason (optional). You can share why you are retiring the site, or skip this entirely. The options include things like "My baby has arrived," "Switching to a different platform," "Created by mistake," or "I'd prefer not to say." This is completely optional and only used to help us improve Biraea.

Step 2: Confirmation. A final screen confirms that your site will be taken offline and your content will be preserved for 30 days.

After confirming, your site is retired. You will be taken back to your dashboard.

If you are retiring your site because of a pregnancy or infant loss, Biraea handles this with extra care. The process includes additional steps that are only shown in this situation:

• A compassion screen acknowledges your loss with a simple, quiet message. There is no rush to move forward -- take as long as you need.
• A resources screen provides links to crisis support, pregnancy loss organizations, and mental health resources. These include the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, Postpartum Support International, and specialized organizations for different types of loss.

Biraea also automatically pauses all marketing emails for your account. You will still receive essential notifications (like billing), but you will not receive promotional messages. You do not need to do anything -- this happens quietly.

If you or someone you know needs immediate support, the mental health resources page is always available, regardless of whether you are retiring a site. →

Changed your mind? You can restore a retired site at any time within 30 days.

1. 1Go to My Sites in the dashboard sidebar.
2. 2Click Retired sites (at the bottom of the page, or navigate directly to it).
3. 3Find your site and click Restore.

Your site will be restored exactly as it was, including all pages, guests, messages, and settings. It will start in an unpublished state, so you can review everything before sharing it again.

The retired sites page also shows how many days remain before each site is permanently removed, so you always know how much time you have.

When someone visits a retired site, they see a simple, neutral message: "This page is no longer available." No explanation is given, no reason is shown, and your content is not visible. This is intentional -- your privacy is protected, and the reason for retiring is never shared with visitors.

Retiring a site and deleting your account are two very different things:

• Retiring a site takes one site offline while keeping your Biraea account active. You can restore the site within 30 days, and you can still create new sites.
• Deleting your account permanently removes everything -- all sites, data, and your account itself. This cannot be undone.

If you just want to take a site offline, retiring is always the gentler option. You can learn about account deletion in the Account settings guide. →