Database bloat in WordPress: common causes and fixes

Short answer: Revisions, transients, spam, and orphaned post meta inflate MySQL tables—trim safely after backups and staging tests.

Slow admin and fat backups are symptoms long before the public site complains.

Common causes

• Unbounded post revisions and autosaves.
• Plugins storing huge option rows or abandoned cron entries.
• Spam comments and pingbacks.

Fix approach

Measure table sizes; remove obvious cruft; uninstall plugins that leak transients; consider InnoDB maintenance during quiet windows.

Avoid cowboy SQL

Random internet snippets can delete legitimate data—use reputable tools or developers.

Frequently asked questions