{"id":463019,"date":"2023-07-25T08:58:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T06:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/?p=463019\/"},"modified":"2024-11-06T08:36:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T07:36:33","slug":"make-wordpress-database-clean-whistle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/blog\/make-wordpress-database-clean-whistle\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean Up and Optimize a WordPress Database"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you experiencing any performance issues on WordPress? Cleaning up your database is a necessary step in your optimization journey. If you\u2019ve been using WordPress for a while, chances are your database is cluttered and filled with tables you no longer need. It looks like it\u2019s time for a clean-up! But where to begin? Which content can be deleted without compromising the smooth running of your website? That\u2019s precisely the purpose of this guide: you\u2019ll understand which content you can delete and how to optimize your WordPress database. <\/p>

\"WordPress
WordPress database clean-up – Source: WP Rocket<\/a>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Why Clean Your WordPress Database<\/h2>

Cleaning your database makes it run more efficiently and helps boost performance by clearing up significant space. If you delete all the stale and outdated data, you can remove the bloat accumulated over time (which could have harmed loading times). <\/p>

Your WordPress database is a mix of all your site\u2019s essential content, including themes, plugins, comments, posts, pages, and revisions. While some elements should never be deleted, it will not harm to trim the excess of old information around three main optimization areas: <\/p>

  1. Reduce the database size from unnecessary entries <\/li>\n\n
  2. Index fewer data on tables subject to clean up<\/li>\n\n
  3. Rebuild indexes<\/li><\/ol>

    By following those three rules, you\u2019ll optimize your database, improve the performance of your website and significantly reduce server loads.<\/p>

    \ud83d\udca1Did you know?<\/strong> Cleaning up your WordPress database may also fix a slow WordPress admin<\/a>. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

    Let\u2019s go over the 10 applicable tips you can use for a good clean-up of your WordPress database. <\/p>

    10 Best Practices to Clean and Optimize a Database on WordPress<\/h2>

    With WordPress, you can optimize your database in a few different ways. We have put together 10 best practices you can follow to clean up your WordPress tables \u2013 and it should always start with a backup!<\/p>

    1. Backup Your Database<\/h3>

    Always take a database backup before starting the cleanup and deleting any tables. If you happen to remove the wrong data, the whole website could go down. You can use FTP, your hosting panel, or a WordPress plugin like UpdraftPlus to complete this task and be on the safe side.<\/p>

    2. Delete Old Plugins, Themes, and Post Data<\/h3>

    If you decide not to use a plugin or a theme, we recommend you delete them and all their data. <\/p>

    To delete unused plugins, go to Plugins \u2192 Installed Plugins<\/strong>. Then, click Delete<\/strong> under any plugins you\u2019d like to remove. Follow the same path from Appearance \u2192 Themes<\/strong> if you want to delete all the themes. <\/p>

    In the same spirit, get rid of the posts and pages that have been sitting too long in your admin, and that will never be published. <\/p>

    3. Delete or Limit Post Revisions<\/h3>

    WordPress allows you to control how many revisions you want to keep for an article, which can be very handy if you need to restore an older version. To limit post revisions manually, simply add this code to your WordPress site\u2019s wp-config.php file<\/a>: <\/p>

    define( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', yournumberhere )\n<\/code><\/pre>
    4. Delete Spammy and Unapproved Comments<\/h3>
    Everybody who owns a WordPress blog knows how annoying it can be to get spam comments. Don\u2019t let them pile up; delete them immediately to avoid clutter. Similarly, if you don\u2019t approve a comment, make sure it gets deleted from the admin. Some anti-spam plugins like Akismet may be your best ally. <\/p>
    You can use phpMyAdmin to bulk delete all the spam comments by opening the WordPress_Comments table as shown below.<\/p>
    (\ud83d\udc49Jump to our full phpMyAdmin tutorial<\/a> for clearing-up database<\/em>)<\/p>
    \"WordPress
    WordPress comments table – Source: onehosting<\/a>
    <\/figcaption><\/figure>
    5. Delete Unused Tags<\/h3>
    Tags help organize your website\u2019s content by categories. It can help a visitor in the navigation and the overall user experience. However, if some tags become obsolete, delete them from the tags section accessible from the posts<\/strong> > tags <\/strong>section. <\/p>
    6. Delete Old Shortcodes<\/h3>
    Shortcodes are handy to add extra functionality to WordPress posts and pages without writing any code. But what happens if you delete the plugin or don\u2019t want to use a shortcode? Your website gets unnecessarily bloated, and the visitors may see the hooks of the shortcode instead of the content:<\/p>
    [some-random-shortcode-seen-by-visitors]<\/code><\/pre>
    One of the solutions would be to go manually through the list of shortcodes and delete all the unused ones. Another way would be to use a plugin like Shortcodes Finder<\/a> that lets you find and optimize all your shortcodes. <\/p>
    7. Delete Pingbacks and Trackbacks<\/h3>
    When your site includes a URL linking to another site, this sends an automatic server notification called a \u201cpingback\u201d. Trackbacks and pingbacks are methods for alerting blogs that you have linked to them, and the messages can fill up the database. To fix this issue, you need to disable both by heading to Settings > Discussion<\/strong> in WordPress and deactivate the first two settings:<\/p>
    \"Deactivating
    Deactivating trackbacks and pingbacks – Source: WP Rocket<\/a>
    <\/figcaption><\/figure>
    8. Delete Transients<\/h3>
    Transients are a type of temporary data cache, so you can use them to store data, but only for a while. You can check how many transients are being stored in your database tables by using phpMyAdmin, then you can search for the following option name in the database:<\/p>
    _ transient _%<\/code><\/pre>
    Then, delete all the transient tables manually from the dashboard. You can also manage and delete transients in WordPress by using the Transients Manager plugin<\/a>. <\/p>
    9. Clean Orphan Data <\/h3>
    Orphaned data can appear in various forms within your database, such as unused metadata, unused terms or tags, unattached media files, and more. These data fragments take up valuable space and can clutter your database. An example of orphan data is a piece of information that still sits on an organization’s network (or server) but was created and owned by a now-deactivated employee.<\/p>
    You can use a plugin like WP-Optimize or WP Sweeper to clean orphan data. If you prefer to do it manually using a MySQL request, we recommend you read this tutorial about how to find the orphan data and delete it<\/a>. <\/p>
    10. Optimize Tables<\/h3>
    The ultimate point of the database optimization journey is cleaning up the tables. WordPress has 11 tables by default, but more will be added according to the theme and plugin you install. <\/p>
    \"WordPress
    WordPress database tables by default – Source: WP Rocket<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>
    Optimizing a database requires great care, and you must be cautious. We are sharing two ways of doing a full database clean-up: manually with phpMyAdmin or automatically with a WordPress plugin. Let\u2019s go over both methodologies. <\/p>
    How to Optimize Your WordPress Database With phpMyAdmin<\/h2>
    To manually optimize your WordPress database, you will need to login into PHPMyAdmin via your hosting provider and follow the steps below:<\/p>
    1. Log in to cPanel and open the PHPMyAdmin tool.<\/li>\n\n
    2. Select the tables that need to be optimized from the structure tab. You can also select them by checking the \u201cCheck all\u201d box below the table lists. <\/li><\/ol>
      \"Selecting
      Selecting the tables that need optimization – Source: phpMyAdmin<\/a>
      <\/figcaption><\/figure>
      3. Once the tables are selected, open the dropdown menu located next to the Check all <\/strong>button:<\/p>
      \"\"
      The dropdown menu to select the different options – Source: phpMyAdmin<\/a>
      <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
      4. Select the Optimize table<\/strong> option:<\/p>
      \"\"
      Optimize table option – Source: PHPmyAdmin<\/a>
      <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
      5. Once the database has been cleaned up and optimized, you should get this success message:<\/p>
      \"Clean
      Clean up database\u2019s confirmation message – Source: phpMyAdmin<\/a>
      <\/figcaption><\/figure>
      If you need to delete a whole database, head to the Databases <\/strong>tab, select the tables to delete, and click on the Drop <\/strong>button:<\/p>
      \"Delete
      Delete a table – Source: phpMyAdmin<\/a>
      <\/figcaption><\/figure>
      <\/div>\n\t