Deactivating and reactivating your Shopify store

Plan requirement

To deactivate a store that's on the Shopify Plus plan, contact Shopify Plus Support.

If you're the store owner and your store is eligible, then you can use your Shopify admin to cancel your subscription and deactivate your store completely.

You can also take a pause from selling on Shopify temporarily instead without deactivating your store.

If you want to deactivate your store, but can't remember your email or password, then you can recover your Shopify login details.

Caution

Before you deactivate your store, make sure that you review and understand the terms of service.

Tip

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Considerations before deactivating your store

Before you deactivate your store, review the following considerations to avoid potential issues regarding closing your store.

Note

The list of considerations isn't exhaustive. There might be other considerations that apply to your store.

Reminders before deactivating your store

• Shopify Plus users: If your store is on the Shopify Plus plan, then contact Shopify Plus Support for assistance.
• Alternative option: Consider pausing your store temporarily instead of deactivating.
• Login issues: If you want to deactivate your store, but can't remember your email or password, then you can recover your Shopify login details.
• Review Terms of Service: Ensure you review and understand the Terms of Service before deactivating your store.
• Shopify's refund policy for subscription plans: Shopify maintains a strict no-refund policy for Shopify subscription plans as stated in section 5.10 of the Shopify Terms of Service. This applies universally across various circumstances including plan cancellations and subscription deactivations. Learn more about Shopify's refund policy for subscription plans.

Retaining store information and assets

Consider what store information and assets you want to retain:

• Unique domains: You can't use the same myshopify.com domain to create a new store.
  • You can create a new store that is branded with the same name, but your myshopify.com domain is unique to each store.
  • For example, you deactivate a store that you named Very Good Things and that had the URL very-good-things.myshopify.com. If you decide to create a new store, then you can still name it Very Good Things, but you can't use the URL very-good-things.myshopify.com.
• Export store data: Export CSV files to save your store information.
• Theme backups: If you've purchased a theme, then consider downloading a backup of your theme. Themes are licensed only to the store you originally buy it for. You can contact Shopify Support to transfer the license to another Shopify store you own.

Financial obligations

Consider how your financial obligations will resolve:

• Subscription cancellation: Deactivating your store automatically cancels your existing Shopify subscription. If you're on the Plus plan, then contact a Merchant Success Specialist for assistance.
• Post-deactivation invoices: You might still receive invoices after deactivation for third-party charges, chargebacks, or other Shopify stores you own.
• Pending payments: After your store is deactivated, any pending payments from Shopify Payments will continue to be processed, but you'll won't have access to your Shopify admin to resolve any potential issues.
• Chargebacks: Even after deactivating your Shopify store, chargebacks can be filed against previous transactions. You'll need to reactivate your store to contest these.
• Outstanding balances: Review all outstanding balances, including transaction fees, app subscriptions, and shipping label charges, before deactivation to prevent unexpected charges.
• Third-party apps: Deactivating your Shopify store doesn't cancel third-party app subscriptions, so you'll need to manually cancel those to stop charges.
• Financial products: Access to Shopify financial products may be restricted or lost during deactivation.
• Pause and Build plan: If you opt for the Pause and Build plan, then you'll incur a reduced monthly fee but will need to choose a new plan when resuming full operations.
• Data deletion: If you choose to deactivate your store, then your store's information is guaranteed for 2 years, in case you decide to re-open your store. However, you can request the deletion of the personal data of your customers from your deactivated store before that timeframe.

For a detailed overview of the billing implications when pausing or deactivating your store, refer to Understanding billing implications before pausing or deactivating your Shopify store.

Customer order impact

Consider how your existing customers with unfulfilled orders might be impacted:

• Gift cards: If you sell gift cards, then you might need to resolve outstanding cards. You can export your store's gift card CSV file that contains the information that you need to resolve any outstanding cards.
• Outstanding orders: If you sell products with different purchase options (such as subscriptions or preorders), then you might need to resolve outstanding orders. Learn more about issuing refunds.
• Chargebacks: Chargebacks can still be issued by a cardholder even if the store has been deactivated. Deactivating your store means you won't be able to submit additional evidence through the Shopify admin in the event of a chargeback.

Custom domain considerations

Consider how your custom domain might be impacted:

• Transferring domains bought through Shopify: If you have a custom domain that you bought through Shopify, then you can transfer it to a third-party domain provider.
• Transferring domains bought through a third-party: If you have a custom domain that you bought through a third-party, then you can remove it from your store using your Shopify admin. If you don't remove your domain from your Shopify store before deactivating it, then you might not be able to use it for another website.
• Turn off auto-renewal: Make sure to turn off auto renewal for your custom domain on your registrar's website to avoid unexpected charges.
• HTTP Strict Transfer Security (HSTS) policy: If you plan to deactivate your store and transfer your domain to a new platform, then be aware that Shopify's HTTP Strict Transfer Security (HSTS) policy remains in effect on your domain for 90 days after you deactivate your store. This policy helps to ensure the safety of the information about your business and your customers.
  • If you transfer your domain to another platform that uses HTTPS, then you don't need to take any additional steps.
  • If you transfer your domain to a platform that doesn't use HTTPS, then for the next 90 days, an error message is displayed in the browser when anyone attempts to visit your domain. The error message might state that the site isn't trusted or that the certificate isn't valid. Wait until the 90-day period is over, or consider transferring your domain to a platform that supports HTTPS.

Deactivating your Shopify store during a free trial or promotional pricing period

You can deactivate your Shopify store at any time. After deactivation, your Shopify subscription is terminated, resulting in the loss of access to your Shopify admin. If you selected a paid plan before the conclusion of the free trial, then you must manually pause or deactivate your store to cancel your account and prevent being charged the fee for your chosen plan.

If you choose to end your Shopify account within the free trial period without opting for a paid plan, then no additional actions are required.

If you deactivate your account during a promotional pricing period for your selected plan, then you aren't entitled to a refund for any charges incurred during this period. Any outstanding balance on your account is charged after cancellation.

Cancel your subscription and deactivate your Shopify store

Note

For security reasons, Shopify Support can't deactivate your store for you. You need to deactivate the store yourself.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Plan.

2. Do one of the following:

• If your store is in the free trial period, then click Cancel trial.
• If your store is on a paid plan, then click Cancel plan.

3. If applicable, then review the options to switch to the Pause and build plan, or start a new store.
4. If you still want to deactivate, then click Cancel plan.
5. Select a reason for the deactivation.
6. Optional: If available, then add a comment to explain further.
7. Click Continue.
8. Enter your password, and then do one of the following:

• If your store is in the free trial period, then click Cancel trial.
• If your store is on a paid plan, then click Cancel plan.

iPhone

1. Log in to the Shopify app as the store owner.
2. Tap > Settings.
3. Tap Plan.
4. Do one of the following:

• If your store is in the free trial period, then tap Cancel trial.
• If your store is on a paid plan, then tap Cancel plan.

5. Select a reason for the deactivation.
6. Optional: If available, then add a comment to explain further.
7. Tap Save.
8. Enter your password, and then tap Save.

Android

1. Log in to the Shopify app as the store owner.
2. Tap > Settings.
3. Tap Plan.
4. Do one of the following:

• If your store is in the free trial period, then tap Cancel trial.
• If your store is on a paid plan, then tap Cancel plan.

5. Select a reason for the deactivation.
6. Optional: If available, then add a comment to explain further.
7. Tap ✓.
8. Enter your password, and then tap ✓.

You'll receive an email to confirm that your store's deactivated. You can still re-open your store or view your past bills. Your store's information is guaranteed for 2 years. If you choose to reactivate your store within 2 years, then you can re-open the store without rebuilding it.

You can also re-open your store and pause your plan.

Delete your data

Your store's information is guaranteed for 2 years, in case you decide to re-open your store. However, you can request that the personal information about your store's customers be deleted before that timeframe.

Learn more about deleting your data.

Reactivate your store

If you decide to reactivate your store, then you can log back in and select a new plan.

Steps:

1. Log in to your store as the store owner.
2. Click Re-open <shop-name>.myshopify.com.
3. Review the available plans, and then select a plan from the plan page.
4. Enter your payment information in the Review and Subscribe section.
5. Click Subscribe to reactivate your store.