5 Easy Ways to Free Up Space on Your WordPress Website

You know that feeling when your closet is so packed you can’t find your favorite shirt — and suddenly you’re wearing the same three things on repeat? That’s exactly what your WordPress site feels like when it’s overloaded with unused images, outdated plugins, and who-knows-what taking up precious space behind the scenes.

And no shame if you’ve never done a digital clean-out before. Most of us hit “upload” a hundred times before we ever think, “Wait… where does all this stuff go?”

If your site has been around a few years (or even a few months), chances are it’s due for a little cleanup. Not just for aesthetics, but for performance, SEO, and your own peace of mind.

In this post, we’re going to walk through five (totally doable) ways to free up space, speed things up, and make your WordPress site feel lighter and brighter — without accidentally deleting anything you’ll miss. Think of it as a digital declutter with zero KonMari pressure.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• How to delete old media the smart way (yes, there’s a right way)
• Which plugins and themes to keep — and which to toss
• How to use ShortPixel to optimize images without wrecking quality
• The one folder that’s probably hoarding backup files like it’s Y2K
• When and how to use Amazon S3 to offload big files for good

Ready to make your site a lean, mean, beautifully organized machine? Let’s do it.

1. Start by Deleting Unused Images (Yep, It’s Time)

Your media library is probably full of images that aren’t being used anymore. Old post drafts, design Your media library might be the digital version of that junk drawer we all have. You know the one — full of half-finished drafts, outdated logos, and mystery thumbnails you swear you never uploaded.

Let’s clean it up.

Option 1: Manual Deletion (Slower, But Safer)

Head to your Media Library and filter by “Unattached.”
Take a peek at each image to double-check it’s not hiding in a plugin or sneaky custom layout.
Then, delete what’s truly not being used anymore.

✅ Pros: Very safe
⏳ Cons: Very manual

Option 2: Use Media Cleaner (More Efficient, Use With Caution)

Media Cleaner scans your site and flags images it thinks are just taking up space. It’s kind of like Marie Kondo-ing your media — but sometimes it gets a little too excited.

If you go this route:

• Back up your site first (always)
• Use the Pro version if you’re running WooCommerce or fancy custom layouts
• Delete in small batches and triple-check what’s flagged

This can save you gigabytes — especially if your site’s been around a while and has been through a few redesigns.

2. Ditch the Plugins & Themes You’re Not Using

This one’s quick and easy, and while it won’t free up a ton of space, it does tidy up your backend (and makes things safer).

Themes: Keep only…

• The one you’re currently using
• One default WordPress fallback (like Twenty Twenty-One)

Everything else? Bye.

Plugins:

If you’re not using it, don’t just deactivate it — delete it. A cleaner dashboard = fewer security issues and less confusion when you’re troubleshooting.

3. Use ShortPixel to Shrink Your Images

This one’s a game-changer. If your uploads folder is filled with huge, high-res images, this is where you’ll get the most bang for your cleanup buck.

ShortPixel compresses images without making them blurry. It’s magic.

Important setting to turn on:
✅ “Remove original images after optimization”
If you skip this, you’re just adding smaller versions on top of big ones — not actually saving space.

Plans:

• Free: 100 images/month
• One-time bundles:
  • 10,000 credits: ~$9.99
  • 30,000 credits: ~$19.99
  • 100,000 credits: ~$59.99

That last one is usually more than enough for a full-site sweep.

4. Clear Out Stored Backups (Sneaky Space Hogs)

Did you know your backup plugin might be storing massive files right inside your WordPress install? Yep. They usually hang out in your wp-content folder like they own the place.

Options:

• Manually delete old backups
• Change your plugin settings to save to Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Google Drive
• Or just lean on your host (SiteGround, Flywheel, Rocket.net — they’ve got you)

Pro tip: You don’t need 17 backups on your server. One local copy + offsite storage is all you need.

5. Offload Media to Amazon S3 (For Sites Over 10GB)

If your site is really media-heavy (looking at you, wedding photographers and course creators), Amazon S3 is your best friend.

Think of it as a digital storage unit. WordPress stays lean, and your content loads from the cloud.

Ideal for:

• Blogs with years of images
• WooCommerce stores with downloads
• Course libraries with lots of PDFs or video files

Tools to use:

• WP Offload Media
• Media Cloud

Heads up: Setup can be a little techy, but once it’s done, it runs behind the scenes. You don’t have to touch it again.

Key Takeaways

1. Start by deleting unused images manually or with Media Cleaner (after a backup).
2. Clean out inactive plugins and themes — it’s easy and keeps things tidy.
3. Use ShortPixel to compress your media, but delete originals to save space.
4. Delete old stored backups from your hosting folder or move them off-site.
5. For sites over 10GB, consider offloading your uploads to Amazon S3.
6. Manual cleanup is safer than relying fully on automation.
7. Always back up before running cleanup plugins.
8. These fixes are mostly one-time — maintenance is easier after the first round.
9. A smaller site isn’t just faster — it’s easier to manage and scale.

Recommended Resources

• ShortPixel
• Media Cleaner
• WP Offload Media
• Amazon S3 Pricing