When an item is permanently discontinued by the manufacturer, your first instinct might be to click “Trash.” However, doing this creates a “404 Page Not Found” error for anyone who clicks an old link from Google, Facebook, or a past email—which can hurt your website’s search ranking!

Here is the safest way to remove an item.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Navigate to Products in your main menu and click on the discontinued item to open the editing screen.

2. First, let’s make sure no one can buy it. Scroll down to the Product Data box, click the Inventory tab, and change the Stock status to Out of stock.

3. Now, let’s hide it from your website’s search and category pages. Scroll back up and look at the right-hand side of your screen for the Publish box.

4. Locate the line that says Catalog visibility and click the small Edit link next to it.

5. Choose the Hidden option and click OK.

6. Click the blue Update button to save your changes.

Why do it this way? The item is now completely invisible on your storefront. However, if a customer accidentally clicks an old link from Google, the page will still load and simply say “Out of Stock,” rather than crashing into an ugly error page!