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Best Practices to Reduce Disk Utilization in WordPress

Learn how to reduce WordPress disk usage with practical steps for media, backups, logs, and database cleanup.

Updated this week

Disk space is a limited resource. Keeping your site’s storage lean improves performance, reduces costs, and ensures you’re ready for future growth. Rapyd Cloud provides generous storage allocations with every plan, along with free offsite backups, but websites can quickly bloat if left unchecked.

This guide gives you a comprehensive framework for managing disk space effectively. These steps apply to any WordPress site and will help you avoid unnecessary add-ons, keep your site healthy, and improve performance.

Understanding Disk Utilization in WordPress

WordPress disk usage comes from several areas:

  • Media files: Images, videos, PDFs, and other uploads stored in /wp-content/uploads/.

  • Database: Posts, revisions, transients, comments, and plugin data.

  • Plugins, themes, and code: Installed files, cached data, and demo content.

  • Logs and backups: Debug logs, plugin-generated logs, and local backup archives.

  • Hidden growth: Duplicate media, unused staging sites, or leftover files from migrations.

To reduce disk usage effectively, you need to manage each of these areas.

Best Practices for Reducing Disk Usage

Offload Media Files

Media is the number one cause of bloat.

  • Install a plugin like WP Offload Media to store files in cloud storage such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud, or DigitalOcean Spaces.

  • Pair the storage with a CDN for faster global delivery.

  • Configure the plugin to not keep a local copy once files are offloaded.

  • For video, always use external services (YouTube, Vimeo, or cloud storage). Videos stored directly in WordPress consume massive space.

Optimize and Manage Images

Poorly optimized images waste storage.

  • Use compression plugins like ShortPixel, Imagify, or Smush. These reduce file size automatically on upload.

  • Convert to WebP format when supported for even smaller files.

  • Audit your media library and replace oversized files (multi-megabyte photos should be optimized before upload).

  • Control thumbnails: each theme or plugin may create several versions of an image. Use Regenerate Thumbnails only after disabling unused sizes.

  • Delete duplicate and unused images with plugins like Media Cleaner.

Clean Up Plugins, Themes, and Files

Code takes space too.

  • Delete plugins and themes you are not actively using.

  • Remove demo content installed with page builders or themes.

  • Check /wp-content/uploads/ for plugin-specific folders that may contain unnecessary files.

  • After uninstalling a plugin, manually inspect /wp-content/plugins/ for leftover directories and remove them.

Control Logs and Debug Files

Log files grow in the background.

  • Turn off debugging in production: define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', false ); in wp-config.php.

  • Check /wp-content/debug.log for size and delete it if large.

  • Some plugins (security, caching, analytics) create their own logs. Review plugin folders regularly.

  • Rapyd Cloud rotates server logs, but plugin-generated logs are your responsibility. Our support team is happy to assist where possible.

Disable Local Backup Storage

Local backups consume enormous disk space.

  • Plugins like UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy can create multiple gigabytes of .zip or .tar.gz archives.

  • Disable local backup storage and configure these plugins to use offsite destinations if you must keep them.

  • Rapyd Cloud provides free offsite backups for all sites. This makes local storage unnecessary.

  • Delete old local backup archives, often found in /wp-content/updraft/ or /wp-content/backups/.

Keep the Database Lean

Databases can quietly expand.

  • Delete spam and trashed comments.

  • Remove expired transients.

  • Limit post revisions by adding define( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5 ); in wp-config.php.

  • Run optimization tools such as WP-Optimize, Database Cleaner, or Advanced Database Cleaner.

  • Drop unused tables: many plugins leave tables behind when removed. Use phpMyAdmin to inspect, and only drop tables you are certain are safe to remove.

Audit Uploads and Large Files

The uploads folder often hides large or unnecessary files.

  • Scan /wp-content/uploads/ for large files such as PDFs, archives, raw images, or video.

  • Use plugins like Media Cleaner to find oversized items.

  • Developers sometimes leave migration packages or installer files. Delete them if no longer needed.

  • Store rarely used assets (manuals, course content, training videos) in external storage.

Manage Caching Files

Cache can grow quickly depending on your configuration.

  • Rapyd Cloud handles object caching with KeyDB. Do not install overlapping caching plugins that store excessive files.

  • Regularly purge cache through plugin settings or the WordPress admin bar.

Manage Staging and Test Sites

Staging environments often duplicate disk usage.

  • Delete staging sites that are not actively needed.

  • If keeping a staging site, clear its media library of unnecessary duplicates.

  • Avoid leaving old test databases connected to staging setups.

Monitor Disk Usage Regularly

Prevention is easier than cleanup.

  • Use the Rapyd Cloud Dashboard → Stats tab to track disk usage per site.

  • Review regularly (weekly or monthly) to catch growth trends early.

  • Advanced users can run SSH commands such as du -sh * inside wp-content/ to quickly see which directories consume the most space.

Adopt Ongoing Maintenance Habits

Keeping disk usage under control requires consistency.

  • Schedule monthly maintenance to clean, optimize, and review storage.

  • Compress new images before uploading.

  • Audit plugin folders after uninstalling tools.

  • Delete unused staging environments as soon as they are no longer needed.

  • Rely on Rapyd Cloud’s offsite backups instead of storing local copies.

Quick Wins Checklist

If you need to save space fast, start here:

  • Delete old plugin-generated backups from /wp-content/updraft/ or similar folders.

  • Empty the WordPress trash (posts, pages, and media).

  • Optimize large images in the media library.

  • Remove unused plugins and themes.

  • Check /wp-content/debug.log and delete if large.

  • Audit the uploads folder for oversized files.

Conclusion

Keeping your WordPress site within its disk limits is not just about avoiding add-on costs, it also ensures smoother performance, faster backups, and easier management. By offloading media, cleaning up unused files, optimizing images, controlling logs, and relying on Rapyd Cloud’s offsite backups, you can take control of your storage and keep your site lean.

If you ever feel stuck or unsure where to begin, our Support team is here to help. While most of these tasks can be handled directly in WordPress, we can assist by pointing you to the right tools, helping you interpret disk usage in your Dashboard, and advising on safe cleanup methods. You do not need to tackle disk management alone.

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