How to Clean Up Your WordPress Database

Think of your database as the filing cabinet of your website. If it’s stuffed with thousands of unnecessary papers, it takes longer for WordPress to find the one page it needs to show a visitor.

1. The Main Culprits of Database Bloat

Before we clean, it’s helpful to know what we’re throwing away:

• Post Revisions: Every time you hit “Save Draft,” WordPress keeps the old version. A single post could have 50 hidden copies!
• Spam & Trashed Comments: Even if they aren’t visible, they occupy space in your tables.
• Expired Transients: Temporary cached data that was supposed to disappear but didn’t.
• Orphaned Metadata: Settings left behind by plugins you deleted months ago.

2. The Plugin Method (The “Safe & Easy” Way)

You don’t need to be a database expert to fix this. There are plugins designed specifically to “sweep” your database.

• Plugin Recommendation: WP-Optimize or Advanced Database Cleaner.
• The Process:
  1. Install WP-Optimize.
  2. Go to the Database tab.
  3. Check the boxes for “Clean all post revisions” and “Remove trashed comments.”
  4. Click Run all selected optimizations.

3. The “Pro” Way: Limiting Post Revisions

Instead of cleaning up revisions every week, you can tell WordPress to only keep a few. Add this line to your wp-config.php file:

PHP

define( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5 );

This ensures WordPress only keeps the last 5 versions of a post, preventing your database from growing out of control in the first place.

4. Direct Cleanup via phpMyAdmin (Advanced)

If you are comfortable with your hosting panel, you can run an “SQL Query” to empty the trash instantly.

⚠️ WARNING: Always back up your database before doing this. One wrong character can break your entire site.

To delete all revisions via SQL:

SQL

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = "revision";

5. Why a Clean Database Matters

• Faster Backups: Smaller databases mean your daily backups finish faster and use less storage space.
• Quicker Queries: Your server doesn’t have to “search” through thousands of junk rows to load a single article.
• Lower Server Costs: Efficient sites use fewer resources, which can prevent you from needing to upgrade to a more expensive hosting plan prematurely.