In short. A paid-plan expiry can switch a WordPress.com site to Coming Soon, while plan removal can set it to Private until restoration.
Definition: WordPress.com documents an automatic change to Coming Soon when a paid plan expires. After the plan is removed, the restoration guide says the site is set to Private until the owner restores the site and selects its intended visibility.
Key facts
- WordPress.com's site visibility guide lists Coming Soon, Public, and Private as the three visibility options. Coming Soon hides the site from visitors, while Public makes it visible to everyone.
- The same guide says that when a paid plan expires, the site reverts to Coming Soon automatically. It directs the owner to restore the site, set Site Visibility to Public in Settings → Reading, and save the change.
- WordPress.com's plan restoration guide says a paid plan remains active for a limited time after expiry, before the plan and its features are removed.
- The public-site guide says that a Public site is available on the internet and gives the Settings → Reading path for selecting Public and saving the change.
What changes when the plan expires?
The WordPress.com visibility documentation, last reviewed on 5 October 2026, names a recently expired plan as a common reason for an unexpected Coming Soon page. Its description is direct: the paid-plan expiry changes the site's visibility automatically. Coming Soon is a whole-site state. It hides the site from visitors and can provide a preview link for selected people.
The billing guide describes a separate stage after the expiry window. The plan remains active for a limited time, during which plugins, themes, and other plan features continue to work. If the plan is removed, plugins and third-party themes stop working. The same guide says WordPress.com then sets the site to Private to give the owner time to restore it before visitors see broken features.
These statements describe why a site can show Coming Soon after the payment term ends and why its later restoration path can show Private. They are visibility states managed by WordPress.com. The site visibility guide says its controls apply to the entire site, while individual posts and pages use the Visibility option in the editor sidebar.
How do you restore Public visibility?
First restore the site according to the plan restoration guide. If the plan has been removed, that guide instructs the owner to purchase a new plan before following the restoration steps. It then gives a visibility sequence: log into the WordPress.com account, open the Hosting Dashboard, use the ellipsis under Actions to select Settings, set site visibility to Public or to the status used before the plan expired, and click Save.
For the general site-visibility screen, WordPress.com's public-site instructions give this path:
Settings → Reading → Site Visibility → Public
The guide says to select Public and click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page. If Public is missing, it says the site has not been launched yet and links to the launch procedure. The main visibility guide uses the same Settings → Reading location and says to confirm Public and click Save Changes when a Coming Soon page remains after a setting change.
What should you check before changing the setting?
Check whether the plan is merely within the limited renewal period or has already been removed. During the renewal period, WordPress.com says the plan features continue to work and provides an expired subscription with a “Renew now” action under Upgrades → Purchases. After removal, the documented restoration path starts with a new plan and then a visibility change.
After saving Public, check the site as a visitor. WordPress.com defines Public as visible to everyone. The visibility guide also says that the setting controls the whole site, so a Public site setting does not override a separate Visibility choice made for an individual post or page.
Related terms
- How does WordPress.com limit a private site to approved viewers?
- Where is the search engine visibility setting in WordPress?
- How do I choose a static homepage in WordPress?
FAQ
Does an expired plan always mean that the site is Private?
No single state covers the whole documented sequence. You can see Coming Soon after a paid plan expires, while the restoration guide says the site becomes Private when the plan is removed.
What should you do if Public is missing?
You should check whether the site has been launched. WordPress.com's public-site guide says the Public option is unavailable until the site is launched.
Where do you save the visibility change?
You can open Settings → Reading, select Public in Site Visibility, and click “Save Changes.” After a plan removal, the restoration guide labels the final control “Save” in the Hosting Dashboard settings flow.
Sources
- WordPress.com Support, "Control your site's visibility", 5 October 2026
- WordPress.com Support, "Renew and restore your site after a plan expires", 5 October 2026
- WordPress.com Support, "Make your website public", 5 October 2026
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