Clearing a website of all its files is a two-step process: delete the website files, then delete the database. No specific order is required but both steps will need to be done.
1. How to delete website files
To delete the website files, follow these steps.
- Log into FTP for the associated website
- Double click on the folder with the website title
- Highlight everything, right click, and choose ‘Delete’
The following files will exist by default when the domain/subdomain is created and can be left intact but you can delete them if you’d like. Whenever apache is updated, if these files don’t exist, they get recreated, which is why it doesn’t matter if you delete them.
favicon.gif
favicon.ico
2. How to delete database files
Once the website files are deleted, we need to delete the associated database. To do that, log into your webhost panel and locate the area that lists your databases. There should be an option around the associated database to delete it. Click the ‘Delete DB’ button and it will be moved to the recycle bin, which is typically where it’ll sit for 30 days before it gets permanently deleted.
