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Cleaning up a WordPress site with over 2,000 posts and 95,000 images can significantly improve performance and free up storage. Here’s a step-by-step guide to clean and optimize your WordPress site:

1. Backup Your Website

Before making any changes, create a complete backup of your site, including the database and files. Use plugins like UpdraftPlus or your hosting provider’s backup tools to ensure you can restore your site if something goes wrong.

2. Optimize the Database

Your database likely contains unnecessary data such as old revisions, spam comments, and orphaned metadata.

• Delete Post Revisions: Limit the number of post revisions stored by adding this code to wp-config.php: phpdefine( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5 ); Use plugins like WP-Sweep or WP-Optimize to delete existing revisions, auto-drafts, and transients.
• Optimize Tables: Use phpMyAdmin or plugins like WP-Optimize to run the OPTIMIZE TABLE command on database tables. This reduces fragmentation and improves query performance.
• Remove Unused Data: Delete spam comments, unapproved comments, pingbacks, trackbacks, and expired transients using plugins like WP-Sweep or WP-Optimize.

3. Clean Up the Media Library

With 95,000 images, unused media files are likely taking up significant space.

• Identify Unused Media: Use plugins like Media Cleaner or Search & Replace Everything (Pro version) to scan for unused images.
• Bulk Delete Unused Files: From the Media Library in the WordPress dashboard, use the “Bulk Select” option to delete multiple files at once.
• Avoid Future Duplication: Install a plugin like Media Deduper to prevent duplicate uploads in the future.

4. Remove Unnecessary Plugins and Themes

Deactivate and delete unused plugins and themes to reduce clutter:

• Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, deactivate unused ones, and click “Delete.”
• Similarly, remove old themes under Appearance > Themes.

5. Automate Cleanup

To maintain your site’s performance:

• Schedule regular cleanups using tools like WP Rocket or WP-Optimize.
• Automate tasks such as deleting spam comments and optimizing database tables weekly or monthly.

6. Compress Images

Reduce image file sizes using tools like:

• Plugins: WP-Optimize (includes image compression) or Smush.
• External tools: Compress images offline before uploading.

7. Monitor Performance

Regularly monitor your website’s speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix after cleanup.

By following these steps systematically, you can declutter your WordPress site while improving its performance and user experience.

Put the following code in functions.php. For example, if it is a slug for a custom post type called ‘product’ or ‘wpdmpro’, enter it as follows. Replace slug with your own custom post type slug.

/* Include custom posts in post RSS */
add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'my_custom_posts_rss' );
function my_custom_posts_rss( $query ) {
if ( is_feed() )
$query->set( 'post_type', array( 'post', 'product', 'wpdmpro' ) );
return $query;
}

It is a good idea to install a plugin called SiteGuard WP Plugin. The main functions include login restrictions, capture function, plugin/theme checker, security diagnosis, login alert, etc., but I only use the “login alert”. When an administrator logs in, you’ll be notified by email, so you’ll know if there’s any unusual login activity.

Jetpack made Jetpack Stats a paid product to monetize its offerings and sustain its development team. The decision primarily targets commercial websites, defined as those generating revenue through ads, affiliate links, product sales, or donations. Personal, non-commercial sites can still access the service for free. This shift aligns with industry trends where basic features remain free while advanced or business-oriented functionalities require payment.

The pricing model is tiered based on website traffic, starting at $99.96 annually for smaller commercial sites and scaling up for larger ones. Automattic, Jetpack’s parent company, justifies the move as a way to ensure fairness—charging more only as a site grows—while introducing advanced features like UTM tracking and priority support for paid users.

This change has sparked criticism within the WordPress community, as many users feel the service’s value does not justify the cost compared to free alternatives like Google Analytics.

When selling paid articles on WordPress, if the search term is included in the paid article, by default the paid article will also be displayed in the search results.

You can use the Word Balloon plugin.

When migrating a WordPress site, one common frustration many users run into is this:

“Why didn’t my featured images come over with my posts?”

If you’ve exported and imported posts using WordPress’s built-in tools, you’ve probably noticed that while your content transfers fine, the featured images often don’t. This happens because the default WordPress Export/Import tool doesn’t always handle media attachments perfectly — especially featured images.

The Problem: Exporting/Importing Articles Misses Featured Images

WordPress’s native export tool lets you export posts, pages, and other content types. However, while images inside post content can be downloaded during import (if you check Download and import file attachments), featured images often get left behind.

This results in:

• Posts without their visual identity
• Broken layouts
• Extra manual work to re-attach images post-migration

The Solution: “Export Media with Selected Content” Plugin

Thankfully, there’s a great solution for this: the Export media with selected content plugin.

This plugin extends the WordPress export tool and ensures that any media attached to your selected content (including featured images) are exported properly.

How it Works:

1. Install and activate Export media with selected content on your old site.
2. Go to: Tools → Export
3. Select what content you want to export (posts, pages, custom post types).
4. Check the box: “Export media with selected content”
5. Download your export file.
6. Import it to your new site using the standard WordPress importer.

Now your featured images will come along for the ride!

Why Use This Plugin?

Final Thoughts

Migrating a WordPress site can be tricky — especially when you want everything to look exactly like it did before. Using the Export media with selected content plugin is a simple but powerful way to avoid headaches caused by missing featured images.

So next time you’re moving content between WordPress sites, don’t forget this little tool. It might save you hours of work.

bbPress, a popular forum plugin for WordPress, was originally designed for classic (PHP template-based) themes. With the introduction of Full Site Editing (FSE) and block-based themes in WordPress, significant changes were made to how templates and content are structured. As a result, bbPress often does not display correctly—or at all—when used with block-based themes. Here’s why:

The Intagrate plugin no longer works with personal Instagram accounts due to changes in Instagram’s API policies. As of December 2024, only professional Instagram accounts—Creator or Business—can be connected to the plugin. This change aligns with updates to the Facebook Instagram API, which restricts certain functionalities to professional accounts.

To continue using Intagrate, users must upgrade their Instagram account to a Business or Creator account. This upgrade unlocks additional features such as access to analytics, shoppable posts, and enhanced API capabilities that enable the plugin to function effectively.

If you need guidance on upgrading your account, follow these steps:

1. Open your Instagram profile and access the settings menu.
2. Navigate to “Account type and tools” or “Switch to professional account.”
3. Select “Business” and complete the setup process.

Why Clean Your Email List?

The effectiveness of email marketing hinges on the quality of your distribution list. If your list contains invalid or outdated email addresses, your deliverability drops and the risk of being flagged as spam or blacklisted increases. Cleaning your list means regularly removing invalid addresses and errors to keep your distribution healthy.

Benefits of List Cleaning

• Improved deliverability by removing invalid addresses
• Fewer bounce-backs, boosting your sender reputation
• Lower risk of being marked as spam or blacklisted
• Higher list quality leads to better engagement and ROI

Basic Steps for Cleaning

• Upload your list to a dedicated tool
• Run a verification check
• Remove invalid or high-risk addresses
• Use only valid addresses for future campaigns

Best Practices

• Clean your list at least every six months or before major campaigns
• Never buy lists; use only addresses you’ve collected yourself
• Implement quality checks at the point of signup

Recommended Way To Clean Your List