Website tools that shut down, 2024–2026

Tools come and go.
Your site keeps the snippet.

Between 2024 and 2026, 10 website tools shut down outright: Facebook Messenger Chat Plugin, Google Business Profile websites, Universal Analytics, Skype, Freshdesk free plan, goo.gl short links, Firebase Dynamic Links, Facebook Like and Comments plugins, Shopify Thank you page additional scripts and Google Translate website widget. 6 more got worse: free plans cut at Mailchimp, MailerLite and reCAPTCHA, ads on free Bitly links, and Hotjar folded into Contentsquare. Smartlook has announced it will close on 30 September 2027. Each row below has the date, a source, what it means for your site and what to use instead, and a scanner finds the dead snippets in your own page source. It is updated whenever a change is announced.

Scan my page See every change
19 changes tracked Latest: Google Translate website widget Updated 8 Oct 2026

By the Builderify team

The latest changes · dates and sources for every row below
Shut down
10
Free plan cut
4
Ads added
1
Merged
1
01 / The tracker

Tools that shut down or got worse,
with the date and the source.

One row per change. “Shut down” means it stops working; the others still work, on worse terms. Each row says what to do if it is on your site, and links the guide where we cover it in full.

19 shown
Announced
1 change
  1. Shut down Announced

    Smartlook · Cisco

    Smartlook is winding down. New subscriptions stopped on 31 May 2026 and renewals on 31 August 2026; paid plans end by 31 August 2027, and the platform and its data are deleted on 30 September 2027.

    If it is on your site

    Export recordings and reports you want to keep before your plan ends, and move session recording to another tool well before the platform goes.

    Read the guide Replace it: User Journey Sources Smartlook
2026
6 changes
  1. Shut down

    Google Translate website widget · Google

    Google ended support for its Website Translator widget, the language dropdown that translated pages in the visitor's browser. Since 2020 it had only been offered to non-commercial sites.

    If it is on your site

    Find the element.js snippet in your theme and replace it with a maintained translation tool before a browser or Google change breaks it.

    Read the guide Replace it: Translations Sources WPHive GTranslate Google Search Central, 2020
  2. Shut down

    Shopify Thank you page additional scripts · Shopify

    Shopify retired the old Thank you and Order status pages, and with them the Additional scripts box. Plus stores lost it on 28 August 2025; every other store was upgraded by 26 August 2026, and scripts left in the box stopped running.

    If it is on your site

    If conversion tracking or an order-tracking widget lived in Additional scripts, rebuild it as a custom pixel or an app block, then place a test order to check it fires.

    Read the guide Replace it: User Journey Sources Shopify Help Center Shopify.dev Consentmo
  3. Free plan cut

    MailerLite free plan · MailerLite

    The free plan fell from 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails, with 3 automations. It was the second cut in a year: on 23 September 2025 it had gone from 1,000 subscribers to 500.

    If it is on your site

    Count your subscribers, including any you would rather archive. Over 250, sending stops until you upgrade or trim the list.

    Read the guide Replace it: Broadcast Sources MailerLite pricing Mailsoftly GroupMail, on the 2025 cut
  4. Free plan cut

    Mailchimp free plan · Intuit Mailchimp

    The free plan was halved to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, at most 250 a day. Unsubscribed contacts still count, and going over puts sending on hold.

    If it is on your site

    Check your audience total including unsubscribes, export it before you need to, and decide between a paid plan and another tool.

    Read the guide Replace it: Broadcast Sources Mailchimp Help PriceTimeline, the notice
  5. Shut down

    Facebook Like and Comments plugins · Meta

    Meta discontinued the Like button and Comments plugin on other websites. They now render as invisible 0×0 elements, so pages do not break but the buttons and comment threads are gone.

    If it is on your site

    Remove the plugin code so it stops loading Meta's SDK for nothing, and decide where comments should live instead.

    No Builderify replacement Sources Meta for Developers Social Media Today BetaNews
  6. Free plan cut

    Google reCAPTCHA free tier · Google

    Google moved every reCAPTCHA Classic key into a Google Cloud project, migrating unmoved keys itself from Q4 2025. The free allowance is now 10,000 assessments a month per organisation; above it you need billing, from an $8 flat fee up to 100,000.

    If it is on your site

    Check your monthly assessments in the Cloud console. Over 10,000 without billing, SiteVerify fails open: forms keep working, unprotected.

    No Builderify replacement Sources Google Cloud: migration overview Google Cloud: compare tiers WPForms
2025
7 changes
  1. Shut down

    goo.gl short links · Google

    goo.gl links that showed no activity in late 2024 stopped working. Google had planned to switch off every link, then said on 1 August 2025 it would keep actively used ones, and links made by Google apps such as Maps.

    If it is on your site

    Open each goo.gl link on your site and in printed material. If it shows Google's warning instead of redirecting, replace it with a link you control.

    Read the guide Replace it: Short Links Sources Google Developers Blog Search Engine Land
  2. Merged

    Hotjar · Contentsquare

    Hotjar Ltd. merged into the Contentsquare Group, which had owned it since 2021. New Hotjar accounts can no longer be created, hotjar.com redirects to Contentsquare, and plans and billing moved to Contentsquare's. Its free plan is larger than Hotjar's was.

    If it is on your site

    Existing Hotjar tracking keeps working. Check what your plan became under Contentsquare's pricing, and whether a free tool covers the heatmaps and recordings you use.

    Read the guide Replace it: User Journey Sources Hotjar Help Center Contentsquare
  3. Shut down

    Freshdesk free plan · Freshworks

    Freshdesk discontinued its free plan, after cutting it from ten agents to two on 15 November 2024. Free accounts that did not choose a paid plan were deactivated; what is left is a six-month Free Program for up to two agents.

    If it is on your site

    Export your tickets and contacts while you have access, then price your team on a paid plan or a free helpdesk.

    Read the guide Replace it: Support Tickets Sources Fluent Support Freshworks Community Freshdesk Support: Free Program
  4. Free plan cut

    Mailchimp automations on the free plan · Intuit Mailchimp

    Mailchimp discontinued its Classic Automation Builder. Free accounts have had no automation flows since, so a welcome email needs a paid plan.

    If it is on your site

    If a welcome or follow-up email stopped sending, that is why. Rebuild it on a paid plan or in a tool with sequences.

    Read the guide Replace it: Sequences Sources Mailchimp pricing EmailOctopus
  5. Shut down

    Skype · Microsoft

    Microsoft retired Skype and moved accounts to Teams Free. Skype call and chat links on websites lead nowhere useful, and calling phone numbers did not carry over to Teams Free.

    If it is on your site

    Replace "Call us on Skype" buttons with a phone link, a callback request or live chat.

    Read the guide Replace it: Callbacks Sources TechCrunch TechRepublic
  6. Ads added

    Bitly free links · Bitly

    A free Bitly link can now stop at a preview page with an ad before the visitor reaches your page. Bitly says the ads keep its free plans free; any paid plan removes them.

    If it is on your site

    Click your own bit.ly links as a visitor would. For links on your site, a short link on your own domain cannot be given someone else's ad.

    Read the guide Replace it: Short Links Sources Bitly Support Coywolf, 6 Feb 2025
2024
3 changes
  1. Shut down

    Universal Analytics · Google

    Google switched off the last Universal Analytics properties, the 360 ones, and removed access to all UA data, its interface and its API. Standard properties had stopped collecting a year earlier.

    If it is on your site

    Remove analytics.js and any UA- tracking ID from your pages: they send data nowhere. Make sure GA4 or another tool is collecting instead.

    Read the guide Replace it: User Journey Sources Google Analytics Help
  2. Shut down

    Google Business Profile websites · Google

    Websites built with Business Profiles, on business.site and negocio.site addresses, were turned off. From March 2024 they redirected to the Business Profile; after 10 June 2024 visitors got a page-not-found error.

    If it is on your site

    If your Business Profile, ads or printed material still point to a business.site address, replace it with your own site's address.

    No Builderify replacement Sources TechRadar Bill Hartzer
  3. Shut down

    Facebook Messenger Chat Plugin · Meta

    Meta discontinued the Chat Plugin that put a Messenger chat bubble on websites. Its guest mode, which let visitors chat without a Facebook login, had already been switched off.

    If it is on your site

    Remove the customer chat snippet. A plain m.me link still opens Messenger; for chat on the page itself, use a live chat widget.

    Read the guide Replace it: Live Chat Sources respond.io Help Brightfire Chative
Earlier
2 changes
  1. Shut down

    Google Optimize · Google

    Google ended Optimize and Optimize 360. Tests stopped running and tutorials built on it no longer work.

    If it is on your site

    Remove the optimize.js snippet and its anti-flicker code, which can still hide your page while it waits.

    Read the guide Replace it: A/B Testing Sources Google Optimize Help
  2. Shut down

    Universal Analytics, standard properties · Google

    Standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data, a year before the 360 properties and before the data itself was removed.

    If it is on your site

    See the July 2024 row: the same snippet, now sending data nowhere.

    Read the guide Replace it: User Journey Sources Google Analytics Help
02 / Dead snippet scanner

Is a discontinued tool
still on your website?

Most of these leave no error behind. Open your page, view its source (Ctrl+U, or Option+Command+U on a Mac), copy all of it and paste it here. The scanner checks it for every tool in the tracker. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.

Page source

Scripts added by a tag manager don’t appear in page source. Check your tag manager’s tags too, and your theme files if you can open them.

Found 7 tracked tools on this page
  • Google Translate website widget Stops working
    translate_a/element.js

    Find the element.js snippet in your theme and replace it with a maintained translation tool before a browser or Google change breaks it.

  • Facebook Like and Comments plugins Stops working
    class="fb-like

    Remove the plugin code so it stops loading Meta's SDK for nothing, and decide where comments should live instead.

  • Google reCAPTCHA free tier Still works, on a smaller free plan
    google.com/recaptcha/

    Check your monthly assessments in the Cloud console. Over 10,000 without billing, SiteVerify fails open: forms keep working, unprotected.

  • goo.gl short links Stops working
    goo.gl/

    Open each goo.gl link on your site and in printed material. If it shows Google's warning instead of redirecting, replace it with a link you control.

  • Bitly free links Still works, with someone else's ad
    bit.ly/

    Click your own bit.ly links as a visitor would. For links on your site, a short link on your own domain cannot be given someone else's ad.

  • Universal Analytics Stops working
    'UA-1234567-1'

    Remove analytics.js and any UA- tracking ID from your pages: they send data nowhere. Make sure GA4 or another tool is collecting instead.

  • Facebook Messenger Chat Plugin Stops working
    fb-customerchat

    Remove the customer chat snippet. A plain m.me link still opens Messenger; for chat on the page itself, use a live chat widget.

03 / What they have in common

Four things these shutdowns
teach about free website tools.

  1. 01

    Dead snippets fail quietly

    Meta’s Like button now renders as an invisible 0×0 element. Universal Analytics code still runs and sends data nowhere. reCAPTCHA over its free tier lets every form through. None of them shows an error, so check rather than wait to notice.

    Facebook Like and Comments plugins Universal Analytics Google reCAPTCHA free tier

  2. 02

    Free plans shrink in steps

    Mailchimp went from 2,000 contacts to 500 to 250. MailerLite went from 1,000 subscribers to 500 to 250 in under a year. The step that hurts is the one your list has just grown past.

    Mailchimp free plan MailerLite free plan

  3. 03

    A link on someone else’s domain is rented

    goo.gl links went dead, free bit.ly links got an ad page, and business.site addresses became errors. A link on a domain you own is the only kind nobody else can switch off.

    goo.gl short links Bitly free links Google Business Profile websites

  4. 04

    The notice comes, if you are listening

    Google gave a year’s warning on goo.gl, Shopify a year on Thank you page scripts, Smartlook more than a year. The notices go to the account email, which is often someone who has left.

    goo.gl short links Shopify Thank you page additional scripts Smartlook

Before you depend on the next free tool

  • Can you export your data, and in what format?
  • Do links and pages live on your domain or theirs?
  • Which email gets the shutdown notice?
  • What happens to visitors when it fails: an error, or nothing?
  • Do you know every place its snippet is pasted?
  • Is there a paid plan, so the free one is not the whole business?
04 / How it is kept

How this shutdown tracker
is kept honest.

Builderify makes replacements for some of these tools, which is why each row says so plainly, and says “No Builderify replacement” where we have none. The rows themselves follow the same rules whether or not we sell an alternative.

Spotted a change we have missed, or a date we have wrong? Tell us and include the source.

  1. 01

    A change, with a date

    A row is a dated change to a tool website owners embed or link to: a shutdown, a smaller free plan, ads where there were none, or a merger. Price rises on paid plans are left out.

  2. 02

    A source for every row

    The vendor’s own help page, notice or blog first, then independent reports. Where the vendor never published the date, the row says who reported it.

  3. 03

    Announced is not gone

    A change dated in the future sits under Announced until its day arrives, then moves into its year.

  4. 04

    Earlier, for the searches

    Google Optimize and standard Universal Analytics went before 2024. They stay under Earlier because their snippets are still on sites, and the scanner still finds them.

Where Builderify replaces a tool on this list

Every module runs on 250 free credits a month, with one-time packs instead of a subscription. See pricing, or browse all guides.

Questions

Discontinued website tools, before you ask.

Meta's Facebook Like and Comments plugins on 10 February 2026, Shopify's Thank you page additional scripts for every store by 26 August 2026, and support for the Google Translate website widget on 1 October 2026. Mailchimp and MailerLite also cut their free plans to 250 contacts, and Smartlook has announced it will close on 30 September 2027.

Yes. Google ended support for its Website Translator widget on 1 October 2026, as reported by GTranslate and WPHive, and since 2020 it had only been offered to non-commercial sites. The snippet may keep working for a while, but nobody maintains it, so replace it with a maintained translation tool.

Some do. Google switched off goo.gl links that showed no activity in late 2024 on 25 August 2025, but said on 1 August 2025 that actively used links, and links made by Google apps such as Maps, keep working. Open the link: if it redirects without a warning, it still works.

No. Meta discontinued the Like button and Comments plugin for other websites on 10 February 2026. They now render as invisible 0x0 elements, so the page does not break but the button and comments are gone. Remove the code so the page stops loading Meta's SDK for nothing.

Up to 10,000 assessments a month per organisation. Google moved every reCAPTCHA Classic key into a Google Cloud project, migrating keys itself from late 2025. Above the free tier you need billing, from an $8 flat fee up to 100,000 assessments; without it, SiteVerify fails open and lets every form through.

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