Title: Retire an application or network site from VIP
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: September 29, 2020
Last modified: July 17, 2026

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 1. [VIP Support](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-support/)
 2. Retire an application or network site from VIP

#  Retire an application or network site from VIP

Retiring a WordPress single site or Node.js application involves retiring the VIP
application. [Retiring an individual network site](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-support/retire-a-site/#2-retire-a-network-site)
on a WordPress multisite does not require retiring the VIP application. See the 
[Application](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-dashboard/application-view/application/)
page for the definition of VIP application.

Notify the VIP team 30 days in advance of the desired retirement date of a WordPress
or Node.js application from VIP by [creating a VIP Support ticket](https://wordpressvip.zendesk.com/).
At the end of this period, VIP will typically retire all of the application’s environment(
s), database(s), media files, and GitHub repository, and update the account’s billing
details as per the agreement.

 * Customers must generate and save a recent [database backup](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-dashboard/backups/)
   and a [media backup](https://docs.wpvip.com/media-backups/) of the production
   environment—as well as a copy of their application’s [wpcomvip GitHub repository](https://docs.wpvip.com/wpcomvip-github-repository/)—
   in order to archive or migrate a site to other hosting.
 * VIP recommends that customers review [the structure of the VIP WordPress skeleton codebase](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-codebase/)
   before migrating a WordPress application. A copy of the application’s wpcomvip
   GitHub repository will not include [VIP MU plugins](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-go-mu-plugins/)
   nor WordPress Core.

## Media files and database

A full [backup of media files](https://docs.wpvip.com/media-backups/) and a [backup of an environment’s database](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-dashboard/backups/)
can be downloaded from the VIP Dashboard of an application. The media file archive
will be supplied with the same directory structure as the file uploads. The data
will be supplied as SQL from the `mysqldump` client.

## GitHub repository

A copy of the code in a wpcomvip GitHub repository can be downloaded by [cloning a copy of the GitHub repository](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/cloning-a-repository).
This method retains the version history and all changes.

If the GitHub repository will no longer be used by an active VIP site, the associated
GitHub repository will be removed once the application has been retired. It is the
customer’s responsibility to ensure that a copy of an application’s repository has
been saved locally.

## Retire a network site

For customers with a [WordPress multisite](https://docs.wpvip.com/wordpress-on-vip/multisites/),
an individual network site can be retired. Customers can [mark that site as “Not launched” in the Network Sites panel](https://docs.wpvip.com/network-sites/)
in the VIP Dashboard to disable production monitoring for that site.

For archive purposes, or to migrate the network site elsewhere, customers can generate
a backup of the database tables and media files specific to that network site. Use
the [Database Backups](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/backups/) and [Media Backups](https://docs.wpvip.com/media-backups/)
tools in the VIP Dashboard to generate the backup files.

A copy of the theme and plugins that were active on the network site will also be
needed to migrate the site. The customer should create a local copy of the associated
wpcomvip GitHub repository for the network site’s application.

The network site can optionally be archived or deleted from the network. A user 
with a Super Admin role can navigate to [the WordPress Network Admin “Sites” screen](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/network-admin-sites-screen/)
to select the archive or delete options for the network site.

Archiving or deleting a network site does not delete the media files that were uploaded
through WordPress or imported with VIP-CLI. [Create a VIP Support](https://wordpressvip.zendesk.com/)
request if there is a need for all of the site’s media files to be deleted.

Last updated: July 17, 2026