Subdomains allow you to create separate sections of your website without registering a new domain name, providing a great way to organise your content. However, sometimes you may need to remove an unused subdomain, whether you’re rebranding, consolidating websites, or simply cleaning up your hosting account. The cPanel dashboard, included in your Domains.co.za’s Web Hosting plan makes it easy to delete a subdomain with just a few clicks, along with all the tools you need to manage your website effectively.

How to Delete a Subdomain in cPanel

1. Login to your Domains.co.za account.

2. Click on Manage Services on the left-hand side and select your Web Hosting plan from the drop-down menu.

3. Click Manage next to your website’s domain name.

4. Next, click the Login button next to Control Panel to access your cPanel dashboard.

5. Scroll down to the Domains section and click Domains.

6. On the Domains page, you’ll see a list of your existing domain names and subdomains. Find the one you no longer need and want to delete.

7. Click Manage next to the specific subdomain, then select Delete.

8. A prompt will appear asking you to confirm that you want to permanently delete a subdomain and its associated files (if applicable).

9. Click Delete Subdomain to confirm.

10. The subdomain and its folder will be permanently deleted from your hosting account.

Additional Information

Why Delete a Subdomain?

There are several reasons why you might want to delete a subdomain. The most common one is simply that the subdomain served a temporary purpose, e.g., a development site or a marketing campaign landing page and is no longer needed.

You might be reorganising your website structure and deciding to move content from a subdomain to a subfolder on your main domain for better SEO or a more unified user experience.

Lastly, if a subdomain has been compromised or hacked, deleting it is often a quick way to contain the damage and remove malware or harmful code.

Every subdomain consumes server resources (disk space, bandwidth, etc.). Deleting unused subdomains helps free up these resources, keeping your hosting account clean and manageable.

Best Practices for Deleting a Subdomain

Deleting a subdomain removes its associated files, so ensure you back up any content you wish to keep before deleting the subdomain. Before deleting any subdomain, it’s always a good practice to create a backup of your website files and databases, especially if the subdomain is hosted a live website. You can use the cPanel File Manager or Backup Wizard for this.

Similarly, before you delete a subdomain you no longer want, ensure that no websites, services, or applications are still using it. For example, check Google Analytics or any custom configurations that rely on the subdomain.

When you delete a subdomain in cPanel, the associated folder and files in your file manager may not be deleted automatically. You will need to manually open your cPanel File Manager and delete the corresponding folder to fully remove the subdomain’s content.

If you’ve set up email accounts for your subdomain (e.g., info@subdomain.example.com), those will also be deleted. Ensure you move any important emails before removing the subdomain.

If you’re deleting a subdomain that contains public-facing pages, ensure that links pointing to it have been updated or are redirected to another relevant location. To ensure that users visiting your deleted subdomain are redirected, consider setting up a 301 redirect before removing it.

While cPanel handles the removal of the subdomain’s DNS (Domain Name System) records, it’s a good idea to be aware that these records are also affected. After deleting a subdomain, DNS records may take some time to propagate. It can take up to 24–48 hours for changes to reflect across the web.