Delete files from the Media Library

How to remove images, videos, and documents from your site

Deleting a file from the Media Library removes it from your site permanently. The file is gone from storage and any public page that was displaying or linking to it will immediately show a broken image or dead link. This article explains how to delete safely and when deletion is appropriate.

What is this for?

Use the delete action to clean up old, unused, or test-upload files that are confirmed to be unreferenced. This is a permanent, irreversible action with no trash or recovery step. The typical use case is a maintenance task: after a redesign, after a failed content experiment, or when clearing out uploads from a QA or staging import.

Good use cases

Example 1: Cleaning up test uploads after a content migration. After migrating content from an old platform, the team uploaded 60 test images during a QA pass. The page is now live with the correct final images. The test uploads are confirmed unused — no page or product references them. Select each one in the library and delete it to recover storage space and keep the library clean.

Example 2: Removing a product image after a product is discontinued. A product has been removed from the store. The product page is deleted and no other page references its images. Open the Media Library, search for the product name, review the matching files, and delete each one. This keeps the library from accumulating orphaned assets over time.

Example 3: Responding to a takedown request. A legal notice requires you to remove a specific image from your site immediately. Locate the file by name or upload date in the Media Library. Confirm it is the correct file using the Preview action, then delete it. The file is removed from storage and any URL that pointed to it returns a file-not-found response within seconds.

What NOT to use this for

• Do not delete a file that is still used on a live page — there is no "check references" step. If any SGB page, blog post, product, or email template references the file, deletion breaks it instantly with no warning.
• Do not use this as a "move to another location" step — deleting and re-uploading is not an equivalent to rename or move. The new upload will have a different URL, breaking all references to the old one.
• Do not delete and re-upload to rename — if you need a different filename, the correct step is to rename the source file on your computer and upload the renamed version while keeping the original URL active on live pages until references are updated.

How this connects to other features

• Pages and SG-Builder — an image placed on an SGB page is referenced by its Media Library URL. Deleting the file causes an immediate broken image on that page.
• Blog posts — cover images and in-post images reference this library. Post content does not auto-detect removal.
• Ecommerce products — product images link directly to this library. A deleted product image shows as a broken thumbnail in the store and on product pages.
• Media Library grid — the Delete icon on each card in the library grid triggers this action.

Before you start

• Confirm the file is not referenced on any live page, blog post, or product before deleting.
• If you are unsure, use the Copy action to grab the file URL, then search for that URL in your page and post content before proceeding.

Where to go

1. Navigate to Media Library → All Media Files.
2. Locate the file you want to remove.

Steps

1. Locate the file

Use search or filters to find the file. Hover the card to reveal the action icons.

2. Click the Delete icon

The delete icon (trash can) appears on hover. Click it. A confirmation dialog appears asking you to confirm the deletion.

3. Confirm deletion

Click Delete permanently in the dialog. The file disappears from the grid immediately.

4. Verify removal

Reload any page that may have referenced the file to confirm the image slot is now broken (or empty, depending on how it was embedded). Update those pages to replace or remove the reference.

What success looks like

After deletion, the file card disappears from the Media Library grid. Any page or post that was referencing the file's URL will show a broken image or empty slot. If the file was not referenced anywhere, visitors see no visible change.

What to do if it does not work

• The delete confirmation appears but the file stays in the grid — refresh the page. The deletion may have succeeded but the grid may not have refreshed. If the file still appears after a full page reload, try again.
• You accidentally deleted a file that was in use — re-upload the correct file. The new file will have a different URL. Update every page, post, and product that referenced the old URL to point to the new one. There is no undo.

Next step

To remove multiple files at once, see the Bulk delete section in Browse the Media Library.