What Happens to my WordPress Site after I Graduate?

How to access your WordPress site after graduation, including managing additional editors and deleting unwanted sites.

If you created sites using blogs.bucknell.edu, you can keep accessing and editing them after graduation.

Your sites do not immediately disappear after you leave Bucknell, but you will need to put some thought into how you would like to maintain those websites.

Access to your Site

You will have access to your Bucknell WordPress sites as long as you have access to a Bucknell login.

If L&IT plans to make any changes to Bucknell WordPress or to your site, we will send an email to the site's administrators. If you would like to continue using your sites, it is important to read and respond to any L&IT communications, which will be sent to the email address associated with your Bucknell WordPress account.

Working with Collaborators

One way to make sure your site continues is to add other people to be administrators on your site. Having multiple people who can edit and maintain the site makes it more likely to continue after you have left Bucknell.

For example, if you run a WordPress site for your students organization, make sure other members have administrator access to the site before you graduate.

To change an existing site editor to the "Administrator" role:

1. Open the dashboard of your WordPress site.
2. Find the "Users" tab in the menu on the left of the screen.
3. Check the box next to the username of the person you would like to make an administrator.
4. Click on the drop-down at the top of the screen that says, "Change role to…" and select "Administrator."
5. Click the "Change" button next to that drop-down.

To add a new person as an additional site administrator:

1. Open the dashboard of your WordPress site.
2. Find the "Users" tab in the menu on the left of the screen.
3. Click "Add New"
4. Use "Add Existing User" at the top of the page to add the person's email address.
5. Assign them the role "Administrator" to give them full access to the site.
6. Click "Add Existing User."

Once you have added them to the site, the person will receive an email from WordPress asking them to confirm the invitation. This email will likely be sent to spam, make sure to check the spam folder in your Bucknell email if you didn't receive it.

If you would like help managing your site's administrators, contact Digital Pedagogy & Scholarship at dps@bucknell.edu.

Deleting your Site

If you do not want to continue using or accessing your Bucknell WordPress site, you can permanently delete it.

1. Open the dashboard of your WordPress site.
2. Click on the "Tools" tab in the menu on the left of the screen and choose "Delete Site."
3. From this page, check the box for deleting the site and follow the instructions to confirm over email.

If you delete your site, you can never get it back or use the dashboard for the site again. We cannot restore your access to the site.

Finding Help

For general WordPress questions, email techdesk@bucknell.edu or stop by the Tech Desk on the first floor of Bertrand Library.

From there, Digital Pedagogy & Scholarship can help you manage accessing, deleting, or sharing your WordPress site. Contact our department directly using our main email: dps@bucknell.edu

To learn more about WordPress, see our WordPress FAQ article.