# Unpublish an article

_Category: Organize and publish_

Unpublish an article to take it off your help center without deleting it. It goes back to being a draft with everything intact, so you can fix it and publish it again later.

**Who can do this:** Owners, Admins and Editors · **Plans:** All plans

## Unpublish from the editor

1. Open the article from **Articles**.
2. Click the arrow next to **Update** and choose **Unpublish (back to draft)**.
3. Under **Reason (optional)**, tell your team why, for example "Out of date since the new billing page". Then click **Unpublish**. If you'd rather not give a reason, click **Skip**: it unpublishes the article too.

![Screen recording. Open the menu next to Update. Choose Unpublish (back to draft). Add a reason for your team (optional) and confirm.](https://helpcenter-io.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/self/1S24K4snCFLiW4UgiHmo06pkEyR1shs7lMSrmUMz.gif)
The reason is for your team. Readers never see it.

You'll see "Unpublished. Back to draft." Readers stop seeing the article right away.

## Unpublish from the Articles page

- **One article:** open the **…** menu on its row and choose **Unpublish**, or click the article and then **Unpublish** in **Article details**.
- **Several articles:** tick them and click **Unpublish** in the bar at the bottom.

These ways don't ask for a reason.

## What changes for readers

- The article's address shows a not-found page.
- It disappears from its category, from search, from the widget and from AI Answers.
- It's removed from your help center's sitemap.

Your team still finds it on the **Articles** page under the **Unpublished** tab, marked **Unpublished**. Click that label to see who took it down, when, and the reason they gave.

## Send readers somewhere else

Links to the article from other articles, emails or bookmarks now lead to a not-found page. To send visitors to a replacement page instead, add a redirect from the article's address. See [Redirect old links to the right page](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/custom-redirects).

## Unpublish or delete?

|  | Unpublish | Delete |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What readers get | A not-found page | A not-found page |
| Where the article goes | Stays on the Articles page as a draft | Moves to Trash |
| How to bring it back | Click **Publish** | Restore it from Trash |
| Best for | Articles you'll fix or reuse | Articles you no longer need |

See [Delete and restore articles](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/delete-and-restore-articles).

## Publish it again

Open the article and click **Publish**. It goes live again at the same address.

## Related articles

- [Publish an article](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/publish-an-article)
- [Delete and restore articles](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/delete-and-restore-articles)
- [Redirect old links to the right page](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/custom-redirects)