Your WordPress site is driven by a database. As long as your website’s database is in healthy shape, your website is healthy.
The database contains everything from your posts, to user information, comments, drafts – everything. So, if it goes rogue, your website takes a hit.
Simply put, you need to make sure that your website’s database remains clean, optimized, and healthy.
You also need to take backups of your database from time to time. Those backups are your trump cards. If someday your website is hit by malicious malware or someone hacks it, the backup database can help you restore your website.
This is where the WordPress database plugins come in. There are various types available. For instance, you will find database plugins that will take backups of your database before you make certain changes such as a full website migration, where anything can go wrong.
Then there is another breed of database plugins that will help you to clean up unnecessary data like old drafts, spam comments, expired transients, and so on.
Note This Carefully:
If you are expecting database plugins that will help you to remove leftover tables and options from previously deactivated plugins, that’s not going to happen. You need to do that manually.
Not everything can be automated.
Good news, however, is that there are tools available that will tell you what database entries are created by plugins so that you can remove those entries manually after you deactivate and remove those plugins.
The sad thing is that plugins often leave behind certain database entries even though you remove the plugins. You have to manually remove those plugin entries, else, they keep building up over the time.
Okay, back to business…
Now, since you know database cleanup is necessary, the question is, what are the plugins that you can use for doing so?
Manual cleanup of spam, drafts, expired transients, etc., every single time is not always a feasible option.
Also, manual backups may lead to errors. So, getting a helping hand is necessary at times.
So, here I am going to tell you about the 14 best WordPress database plugins that you can use.
Here is what you are going to learn in this article today:
- Why do you need to have an optimized and fast database?
- Why should you opt for a hosting company that performs database optimization?
- What features should a database plugin have?
- The benefits of using database plugins.
- The 18 best WordPress database plugins at your disposal.
Are you ready?
Let’s begin.
Why do you need to have an optimized and fast database?
There are at least four known benefits of having an optimized and fast database. Here is the quick list:
- If your database is fast, your website is fast. If your website is fast, it ranks better in Google SERPs. Speed matters.
- A fast website ensures great user experience. Don’t forget that Google is introducing Core Web Vitals to measure how your website performs when it comes to user experience.
- An optimized database ensures that database queries are executed faster by going through only the necessary data. This ensures that there is less strain on your server resources.
- Optimize database reduces the database size by removing redundant data, and so, you save on vital storage space allocated to your hosting account.
If you want to talk about migration, database backup is absolutely necessary. While migrating your website from one server to another, anything can go wrong. Having a backup database will ensure that you can restore your website in the case of an unforeseen debacle.
The same logic applies in the case of an unexpected hack or a malware infection. A backup database is your key to continued survival of your website.
Why should you opt for a hosting company that performs database optimization?
Your website database is the lifeline of your website. It is a complex organism (if you call it so) that calls for technical knowledge.
A hosting company already has the technical knowhow needed for handling a technically complex thing like a database. They know their server configuration, and hence, they can easily optimize the database without running into errors.
The same cannot be said when you try database optimization by yourself.
The problem is that not every hosting company will perform database optimization for you. Especially, if you are expecting a shared hosting company to do that for you, you better have some extraordinary luck.
Most often, only the managed WordPress hosting companies perform such optimization. Albeit, they charge way higher than shared hosting. So, if your budget permits, it is better that you go for a managed hosting provider such as Kinsta or Liquid Web or WPX Hosting.
What features should a database plugin have?
Now, this is a difficult question to answer. Different plugins have different purposes. Your needs are different from the needs of other webmasters who can be more technically savvy than you, or less!
Bottom line is that not all plugins will be the same, and not all plugins will serve your purpose properly.
However, here is a list of basic features you should expect from a database plugin:
- Clears spam, drafts, transients, etc. with a single click.
- Allows setting automatic optimization at predefined intervals.
- Offers database backups (most plugins will offer this as a premium service).
- Allows backing up in multiple destinations like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, OneDrive, and so one! Again, backups may be a part of premium service.
- Plugin is updated frequently, or at least after every major release of WordPress core.
- The plugin is compatible with the latest PHP version.
- The plugin uses very less memory. This will be important if you are using a shared hosting server.
Certain things like memory usage, PHP version compatibility, etc. are not easy to find out. So, the ideal thing to do is to use a Google Chrome extension called WP Hive. This extension shows a host of important information about the plugin of your choice right on the WordPress plugins repository page.
Use this extension thoroughly. It can save you from unnecessary technical trauma.
The Benefits of Using WordPress Database Plugins
By now you must have guessed the benefits of database plugins. However, if you are still confused, here is a quick summary:
- Faster Website: They optimize databases and deliver requested outputs quickly every single time users request them. The faster the database queries are executed, the faster the results are delivered. This ensures that the website loads faster.
- More Space: Removing unwanted data from the database creates more space. This allows the database to run optimally.
- Mostly Automatic: Not only are these plugins safe, but they also operate automatically (mostly). In facts you can set them to perform tasks at regular intervals without any human intervention.
- Safety: Some of these plugins will take backups of the database or the entire website (including the database). In the event of a malware attack, data corruption, hack, host failure, etc., you can revive your website from the backups. This is the type of safety that any webmaster will look for!
The 18 best WordPress database plugins at your disposal
Okay, now that you have the basic knowledge you need, it is time to divert attention to the core purpose of this article – finding the best WordPress database plugins that you can rely on.
The plugins listed here are different in their functionalities. Some are good for cleaning up redundant data while others are good for migration help.
Here is the quick list before delving deeper into each option:
- WP Database Backup.
- WP-Optimize.
- Advanced Database Cleaner.
- Better Search Replace.
- Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions.
- Smart Cleanup Tools.
- WP Database Reset.
- Contact Form 7 Database Addon.
- WP-DBManager.
- Participants Database.
- WP Reset.
- WP-Sweep.
- WP Clean Up Optimizer.
- WP Cleaner Pro.
- UpdraftPlus Backup & Restoration
- My WP Backup Pro
- VaultPress
- BackWPup
Let’s learn about individual options.
#1. WP Database Backup
Get it right! This plugin is not for cleaning up your database. It will take backups of your database, making it a particularly good choice for:
- Security – keeping backups of your database adds to your security endeavors.
- Backing up your data before you make changes to your database or migrate to a different host.
The two core functions of the plugin are:
- Backing up your database.
- Restoring your database.
The plugin will allow you to download your backups and even send emails to you automatically when the backup process is completed.
You can schedule backups at predefined intervals so that you don’t have to perform backups manually every single time.
WP Database Backup is a freemium offering, which means that you get the core features of the plugin for free. However, you need to pay if you want to get access to the most advanced features of the plugin.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- One-click database backup and restore.
- Automated backups through scheduling, allowing you to create a backup in the event of a malicious attack.
- Allows downloading backups to your local disk.
- Allows backing up the database in remote locations like Google Drive, FTP, Email, Amazon S3, Dropbox, etc.
- Exclude database tables from backup.
- Search and replace function available that allows you to search your database and replace information if you need!
The premium version of the plugin will cost you $22 for a single site license.
#2. WP-Optimize
WP-Optimize is one of the best plugins you can lay your hands on. It is kind of a ‘everything in one package’ plugin. It cleans, compresses, and caches your WordPress database.
What you will really love is the caching feature, which helps to speed up the database performance, and hence, speed up your website. That’s a nice touch!
You can even set schedules for automatic optimization. Guess what? It even allows you to compress your images. Yes, images!
Images are often the biggest culprits when it comes to slowing down your website. So, optimizing images is necessary, and the WP-Optimize plugin can do that for you!
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- The tool comes with an excellent set of features that include site caching, image compression, database cleanup, etc.
- Scheduled database cleanup available.
- Optimization statistics show up on the plugin dashboard.
- Backups of several weeks are stored inside the plugin.
- Helps optimizing images by removing the unwanted ones and keeping and optimizing the ones you need.
- The plugin can selectively optimize specific tables of the database instead of optimizing the entire database.
- It offers multilingual and multisite support.
WP-Optimize is a freemium offering. The free option will give you basic features like database cleanup, image compression, and caching. For advanced features, you need to pay. They have three different plans to offer.
You can opt for the Starter Plan for $39 a year that will allow you to use the plugin on up to two sites. The next plan is the Business Plan that costs $59 a year, and supports up to five sites. Finally, you can opt for their Unlimited Plan that costs $149 a year for unlimited site support.
#3. Advanced Database Cleaner
The Advanced Database Cleaner plugin focuses on the redundant and garbage data that can slow down a website, or cause server errors. For instance, it will clean up old revisions and old drafts, trackbacks, pending comments, etc.
The plugin will allow you to decide the cleanup frequency and the files you want to exclude from the cleanup process.
So, if you are the type of person who doesn’t like to go ahead and manually clean all this garbage, you can heavily rely on this plugin.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- Removes unwanted garbage data and saves time.
- Allows scheduled cleanups.
- Cleans up a lot of things like orphaned data, auto drafts, pingbacks, pending comments, and more.
- Displays database information so that you can decide what to remove and what to keep.
- It can automatically clean tables.
- It can repair damaged and corrupted tables.
- It supports multisite WordPress installations.
Advanced Database Cleaner is also a freemium option with the core plugin available for free usage. For advanced features, you need to go premium. There are three pricing options to work with depending on your budget and needs. They include:
- Starter Plan – $39 one-time fee for up to two sites.
- Business Plan – $59 one-time fee for up to five sites.
- Unlimited Plan – $149 one-time fee for unlimited sites.
#4. Better Search Replace
Better Search Replace is a great plugin if you are migrating your website to a new server. This simply means that you don’t need to keep the plugin installed. Once you have fulfilled the purpose, you can remove the plugin.
Once you migrate, having the right address for images and links is necessary. This is indeed one of the worst nightmares of migration. Sometimes, migration doesn’t work properly, especially when you are using automated migration plugins. They often fail to update the new address, causing broken links and images.
Better Search Replace comes to rescue as it helps you to fix some tables that need to be updated for links to work properly.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- It will analyze database tables before migration, and it will allow you to select those tables that you want to modify.
- Before you migrate, you can update the fields of your database tables using this plugin.
- You can perform what is called a ‘dry run.’ It is essentially a test run before performing the actual task.
- Search and Replace function is as simple as a few clicks. It takes only a few seconds to complete the function.
- It allows backing up the database before running search and replace.
- You can import databases.
- It will allow you to save the search and replace profiles just in case you want to reuse the save profile later.
- It has multilingual support.
Better Search Replace is also a freemium plugin. The free version is powerful enough, but if you need advanced functions, you can upgrade depending on your needs. There are three available pricing plans that include:
- Personal – $59 for 1 one site with 1 year update and priority support.
- Developer – $79 for unlimited sites with 1 year update and priority support.
- Ultimate – $99 for unlimited sites and lifetime updates, but 1 year of priority support.
#5. Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions
Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions is a fantastic plugin for cleaning trash from the database. Garbage like trash posts and trash comments, post revisions, spam comments, old auto drafts, etc., keep building over time.
You can remove all of them with a single click. It will quickly analyze your database and allow you to discard all junk. However, you can selectively keep some data if you want.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- It can remove some stubborn junk like expired transients, OEMBED cache, database tables, etc.
- It can take out common junk such as post drafts and trashed posts, comment trash, and more.
- Plugin configuration is simple with only a few settings to deal with.
- Allows optimization based on defined schedules. Hourly, daily, or weekly optimizations are available.
- Creates a log of optimizations performed so that you can refer back, if needed.
- Supports multisite WordPress installations.
The plugin is absolutely free, but despite that, it is frequently updated to ensure that there are no compatibility issues.
#6. Smart Cleanup Tools
Smart Cleanup Tools is a suite of cleanup tools for optimizing your database. There are nearly 40 settings that you can use for cleaning up your WordPress database. You can perform a one-click complete cleanup and trust the plugin to weed out unnecessary data, or you can decide what to keep and what to remove.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- The cleaning plugin performs a quick integration with various plugins that are meant for database optimization.
- It displays an assortment of data once the cleanup process is complete. You can go through the data to learn exactly what was done for optimizing your database.
- There is a default schedule already set for automatic cleanups, however, you can always set custom schedules.
- There are tools available for selectively cleaning and deleting items one-by-one.
- There is a quick access menu in the dashboard that will remind you of the cleaning.
- You can remove plugin data, rules, sidebars using various reset tools.
- There are tools available for removing things like post drafts, unapproved comments and more.
- It has tools for removing other things like WooCommerce sessions, orphaned data, etc.
Smart Cleanup Tools is a premium-only plugin available through Codecanyon. You need to pay a one-time fee of $30 that will give you support for 6 months. However, if you need extended support, you can purchase that.
#7. WP Database Reset
WP Database Reset is a plugin that will allow you to reset your entire WordPress database. If you don’t want to reset the entire database, but want to clear out only a table or two, that is also possible.
What does that mean? It means that you can roll back to a time when your database was not very cluttered. You can think of this as the system restore feature you get in the Windows operating system.
Setting up the plugin is quite easy, because all settings are neatly arranged on a single page. On the settings page you can type in the tables that you want the plugin to remove. It has a security feature in place that will ask for a passcode to ensure that it’s you who is performing the task.
While it may sound exciting, WP Database Reset, as I said earlier, is a type of system restore feature. So, be very cautious when using it. You MUST take a backup of your database before running the plugin.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- A very lightweight plugin.
- Completes complex tasks with a single click.
- You can use the command line interface for resetting your database.
- You can clear the whole database, or you can selectively clear a few tables.
- There is a security measure in place to prevent unauthorized resets or accidental resets.
The plugin is entirely free, and it is available through WordPress plugins repository. Be careful about what you do!
#8. Contact Form 7 Database Addon
The Contact Form 7 Database Addon is a plugin intended for those who are using Contact Form 7 for collecting user information and communicating with readers and subscribers. It means that both the plugins work in conjunction.
This is not a cleanup plugin. Instead, it will ensure that all your Contact Form 7 submissions are stored in the database, thus ensuring that you don’t have to rely only on your email inbox for storing submission information.
It is a true plug-and-play plugin. You don’t need to configure anything. Just install it!
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- Super-easy integration with Contact Form 7.
- There is no configuration panel. Just install it, and you are good to go. It will create database entries by itself.
- It can import and export messages.
- It can delete past messages.
- It can display all messages created using Contact Form 7.
- It has an easy integration with other powerful tools like database switcher, drag-and-drop file uploader, etc.
- Well-coded lightweight plugin.
It is available for free usage. However, if you want features like PDF exporting capabilities, popup messages, database switcher, etc. you need to purchase separate premium addons.
#9. WP-DBManager
WP-DBManager will optimize your database, and even give you the options of backing up and restoring your database. There are several modules in the admin panel that you need to configure, but for some people, the setup process can be quite confusing, making it not so ideal for rookies.
However, if you know what you are doing, you can always go ahead and set it once and forget it! The plugin will allow you to run selected queries, drop empty tables, and more using single-click options.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- A simple, well-coded, and efficient plugin.
- Automatic database backup is its primary function. It will maintain logs, too!
- It will allow you to examine your database tables. You can then decide whether you need some of those tables or not.
- The plugin dashboard gives you the data that you can analyze to find what is wrong with your database.
- It can selectively optimize tables and files.
- All backups are neatly arranged in a list. You can reuse the backups in case of an unexpected malicious attack or error.
- It can repair the database with a single click.
The plugin is entirely free. If you want, you can donate, which is what keeps the development of the plugin running!
#10. Participants Database
Participants Database is not the usual database optimization and backup tool. The plugin is designed for creating a separate database containing a list of your website visitors and contacts.
The plugin supports importing via CSV file, or you can decide to manually type in everything. That’s your choice. You can store just about any type of information you want, and the data management interface is very sleek and neat.
The plugin comes with shortcode support, allowing you to display a list of your contacts on your WordPress site.
The tool is quite simple, but don’t be fooled. It is loaded with features that will surprise you!
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- The database loads right on your dashboard after you install it.
- The dashboard can handle a large amount of data.
- You can import an external database using a CSV file.
- For different fields you can set validation rules.
- You can use shortcodes for displaying signup forms and contact lists.
- You can use different templates for designing your own signup forms.
- Records are easy to edit right from the backend. However, only admins can do that.
- Users can always edit their data from the frontend.
- There are various paid addons available for location mapping, member payments, directory tools, etc.
- The plugin has support for multiple languages.
What’s interesting is that the plugin is completely free. However, you can always extend its functionalities using the various paid addons that are available.
#11. WP Reset
WP Reset is a simple plugin that will allow you to delete the data from the database that you no longer require. There are several use case scenarios. For instance, you can use it for removing demo content from your site.
Alternatively, if you want to remove and clean the whole site and start from scratch, that is also possible.
WP Reset can help you to remove comments, posts, tables, and various other stuff. Don’t worry, you do get complete control. You can decide what to keep and what to remove. However, never forget that once you reset things, you are essentially removing stuff for good. There is no way of getting the data back.
So, user precaution is advised!
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- Allows restoring WordPress environment and cleaning up everything using a single click.
- You can delete just about anything you want – from media entries to posts, from comments to users – decide what you want to remove.
- If you want, you can sweep clean the whole database and remove everything.
- The plugin will also allow you to keep the plugins and themes of your choice.
- The plugin will keep all basic website settings like site name, address, etc.
- The best part – you can create snapshots as backups and restore your site in case something goes wrong during cleanup.
The plugin is completely free! There are no paid addons or paid plans. Just install and enjoy if you need the plugin.
Essentially, the real world uses are quite limited. The plugin is best suited for developers who are experimenting with website development. For a production site, this plugin can quickly become a nightmare if you don’t know how to use it wisely.
#12. WP-Sweep
Yes, WP-Sweep is a database cleanup plugin that will get rid of the junk that keeps building up over time. Such junk can bloat your database and slow down your website over time. So, removing such junk periodically is very important.
WP-Sweep will allow you to do just that. You can remove things like deleted and unapproved comments, post revisions, auto drafts, expired transients, and more!
That’s all that you should be expecting from this plugin. If you were hoping to get the features like database backup and download, database restore, etc., you are out of luck.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- A very simple and lightweight plugin.
- Only cleans junk data like deleted and unapproved comments, orphaned most meta, unused terms, duplicate post, comment, user meta, oEmbed caches in post meta, and more.
- The plugin uses the WordPress delete function instead of MySQL queries. While this keeps things simple, it can possibly cause some performance issues.
The plugin is completely free with no paid add ons or paid plans. You don’t need to keep this plugin installed. Whenever you are in need of some cleanup, just install and run the plugin. Post cleanup, remove it!
#13. WP Clean Up Optimizer
WP Clean Up Optimizer, as the name suggests, is a simple plugin that will help you to remove junk and optimize your WordPress database. Removing junk can help you to increase your website speed.
The plugin can remove corrupted tables, obsolete records, unused space, orphaned data, etc. The plugin will scan your database and find out the areas that can be optimized to speed up your site.
You can delete items in the database one at a time using this plugin, or you can perform a full sweep using a single click to save time.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- It identifies and pulls up all the redundant data that you no longer need.
- You can perform a single-click cleanup or you can remove individual data.
- It can remove orphaned term relationships, oEmbed caches, unused terms, and more.
- It can clean spam comments, pingbacks, and post revisions.
- It displays all cleaning jobs in a single place.
- The plugin will allow you to preview tables before you perform cleanups.
- It has the capability of automatically blocking IPs. You can individually block or unblock IP addresses, as well.
The plugin is a freemium plugin, which means that there is a free version available. However, if you want the advanced features of the plugin, you will need to get the premium version that is available through different premium plans. The plans offered are:
- Pro Plan – costs €29.99 a year.
- Developer Plan – costs €69.99 a year.
- Agency Plan – costs €99.99 a year.
#14. WP Cleaner Pro
WP Cleaner Pro is available for purchase through Codecanyon. It can perform scheduled cleaning, and it is capable of taking a backup of your entire database. There are 25 different data types that can be cleaned using this plugin.
What’s interesting is that the plugin performs its tasks in the background. You don’t have to interfere. Simply install it and forget about it. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot take manual actions. You can!
You can always filter different database items and decide to keep or delete them. This premium plugin has a brilliant documentation segment that will walk you through everything. The interface is sleek and neat.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- Instantly optimizes and cleans the database after installation.
- It backs up your database just to make sure that you can restore your database if something goes wrong.
- It will allow you to schedule database cleaning at set intervals.
- It can clean orphaned data, bad comments, pingbacks, duplicate content, etc.
- It is an extremely lightweight and well-coded plugin.
The plugin is available for purchase at a price of $19. That’s a one-time payment that you need to pay for the plugin and 6-month support. If you want additional support, you can purchase that feature separately and extend your support duration.
The only downside is that the plugin was last updated in June 2020. It has been nearly a year now, and there has been no update.
#15. UpdraftPlus Backup & Restoration
Surprised to see this one on the list? Well, even I was contemplating excluding this plugin from the list. However, a plugin doesn’t necessarily have to be focused only on the database to be an effective database cleanup and backup solution.
UpdraftPlus is a famous backup solution with well over three million active installs. It not only backs up your website files, but also backs up the entire database.
The plugin will allow you to store your backed up files and database in various cloud storage destinations like Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive etc.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- Scheduled backups and one-click backups.
- Cloud storage of backups.
- Superfast operations without slowing down the site.
- Incremental backups (premium only).
- Website duplication and migration (premium only).
- Database encryption, multi-network support, advanced reporting (premium only).
- CLI support (premium only).
If you want to opt for their premium option, you need to shell out $70 for the first year and then $42 from the second year onwards. There are other pricing plans available, as well.
#16. My WP Backup Pro
My WP Backup Pro comes from MyThemeShop – the same people who gave the famous RankMath plugin for SEO. You can trust this plugin.
They have both free and paid versions available, and the plugin is exceptionally well-coded and performs great. It can backup your entire website including the database on a regular basis, giving you immunity against hackers, malware injections, server crashes, etc.
You can rest assured that your website is safe. If something wrong happens, you can restore everything.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- WP-CLI integration
- Automatic backups and manual backups available.
- You can take complete backup or differential backups (something that Updraft calls incremental backups).
- You can schedule your backups and decide whether you want to back files and database, files only, or database only.
- You can store your backups in remote cloud storage including services like Amazon S3, Google Drive, Rackspace cloud files, Dropbox, etc. You can also send backups to email and FTP.
While the free version can be used on unlimited sites, the premium version starts with $29 for a three site-license.
#17. VaultPress
VaultPress is a powerful security and backup plugin that can not only keep your site secure against threats like exploits, malware, host failures, viruses, hackers, etc., bit also take regular backups of your website and database.
Some of the features of this plugin include:
- Real-time activity monitoring.
- Entire site scan.
- Automatic daily backups and 1-click backup restorations.
- Vulnerability review and fixes.
- Suspicious codes and threat review.
- Spam prevention and more.
VaultPress isn’t a standalone plugin. It comes as a part of Jetpack subscription, because it has been developed by those who created Jetpack, and they are the people behind Automattic. If you don’t know about Automattic, here is what you need to know – No Automattic, No WordPress.
VaultPress is not free! The pricing starts at $39 for personal usage. And that’s per month!
#18. BackWPup
Here is yet another plugin – BackWPup. If UpdraftPlus and VaultPress are expensive for you, you can decide to settle for BackWPup. This plugin has both free and paid versions available and does pretty much the same thing – backups up your website and database.
However, there are some interesting features available that you won’t get with other providers. What’s awesome is that the free version is really powerful, but the Pro version unlocks even more power.
Some of the features of BackWPup plugin include:
- Website backup (files and database).
- Remote storage of backups in Google Drive, Amazon S3, Dropbox, OneDrive, FTP server, etc.
- It can send backups and logs to your email as well.
- It can optimize your database by indexing and partitioning data.
- It can resize your database tables.
- It can check and repair your corrupt database.
- It can take backups in zip, tar, and tar.gz format.
- It encrypts the backups, and more!
The free plan is always there (and it should have you covered), but you can opt for their paid plans, as well. Paid plans can get really expensive starting from 59 Euros per year for the standard plan.
Honorable Mentions
While the plugins listed above are mostly targeted towards databases, you can always go for a multi-functional plugin. There are several clever caching plugins available in the market that can perform database cleanup while offering state-of-the-art caching mechanisms.
Two such incredible plugins are:
WP Rocket
It is one of the most advanced caching plugins available today. It is a premium plugin with no free version available.
The core features of this plugin include:
- Caching web pages.
- Minification of CSS, JS, and HTML files.
- Preloading external resources.
- CDN integration.
- Localization of Google Analytics.
- One-click database cleanup (it cannot backup databases).
- WebP image conversion.
- WordPress Heartbeat control.
WP Rocket is very simple to use despite its advanced features.
LiteSpeed Cache
Unlike WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache is completely free. However, it is just as advanced as WP Rocket. It offers every feature that WP Rocket has to offer, including database cleanup.
Unfortunately, LiteSpeed Cache is slightly difficult to set up and use. One interesting feature of LiteSpeed Cache is that it offers low-quality image placeholders in conjunction with QUIC.cloud CDN, which is a CDN service offered by LiteSpeed technologies.
LiteSpeed Cache works best if you are using LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed server. To make it work with non-LiteSpeed servers (like Apache or Nginx), you will need QUIC.cloud CDN.
One advantage that WP Rocket has over LiteSpeed cache is the ability to schedule the database cleanup activity. With LiteSpeed cache, you need to perform the task manually every single time! This may be a deterrent for many users, but remember, LiteSpeed Cache is a free option, and albeit, a very powerful caching plugin.
Conclusion
Optimizing your WordPress database is absolutely necessary. Having a clutter-free database ensures that your website loads fast. While there is no scarcity of WordPress database plugins, you need to choose the one that suits your needs.
No matter what you choose, make sure that you perform database backups (manually or automatic if supported by the plugin) before optimizing your database. Plugins are pieces of codes.
There can be sudden and unexpected compatibility issues during the cleanup process, leading to a broken website. The backups you take will help you to restore your website quickly if something goes wrong somewhere.
If your database cleaning needs are basic, and you don’t experiment too much with new plugins every now and then, I will always suggest that you go for WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache that offer both caching and database optimization. This will eliminate the need for using a separate plugin.
If you already have a caching plugin that doesn’t offer database cleaning, but works well in the caching department, there is no point changing your caching plugin just for database optimization. In such a scenario, using a separate plugin for WordPress database optimization makes much more sense.
Again, no matter what you are selecting, be wise. Choose the one that caters to your specific needs instead of going with the popular choice. Every website is different. You are no exception. Hence, your needs will differ, too!
