While we’re all performing our annual “spring cleaning”, it’s easy to forget that your WordPress Media Library needs some extra love too.  And while it can be satisfying to clear out your unneeded WordPress files the old fashioned way (manually), there are plugins available in order to make the job easier. We’re going to take a look at why you need to clean up your WordPress media library and the two best plugins available to get the job done.

Why Do I Need to Cleanup My WordPress Media Library?

Your website grows over time - whether you’re acquiring new content, media files, users, themes or plugins, it’s bound to get a little cluttered. By periodically going through your website and performing some basic clean-up tasks, you’ll have a website that loads faster, is more functional and is also more appealing to your users.

Megan Hendrickson of DreamHost shares more on why you should clean up your WordPress Media library:

“When you first build your WordPress site, it will be pretty lightweight. Over time, however, you’ll probably add a lot of files and data. You’ll create content, add new plugins and themes, and maybe even tweak the coding in core files. All of this causes your site to grow in size. This matters because when someone needs to access your site, the time it takes to load and perform crucial functions depends on how much data needs to be processed. A bloated site can, therefore, lead to slower loading times, which is very bad for the users’ experience. It can even make managing your site more difficult, thanks to similar stresses on the back end.”

Which Tools Should I Use to Cleanup My Website?

While there are several tools available for cleaning up your WordPress Media Library, here are two that we’d recommend:

Media Cleaner

Media Cleanser is a great option for cleaning out your WordPress Media Library, as it cleans out files that are not being used in your website, including broken entries. This plugin lets you decide which media entries you want to permanently delete before they’re gone for good, with its internal trash bin.

GoDaddy.com talks about why they recommend Media Cleanser:

Media Deduper

Media Deduper is another popular option for cleaning up your WordPress Media Library. This plugin was created with the goal of deleting and preventing the creation of more pesky duplicate files.

Cornershop Creative gives you the rundown on what Media Deduper does when it comes to cleaning up your files:

“Once installed and running, the Media Deduper does two main things:

1. It duplicates your media files list. This list helps the plugin identify redundant files so you can easily delete all but one copy of your file.

2. It blocks duplicate files. Media Deduper scans files as they’re uploaded to see if the files are already in your library. If it determines that you’re uploading a duplicate, it will point you to the existing file, instead. No more accidental duplicates!”

Work Hero can help you navigate the world of WordPress plugins and answer any questions you may have about cleaning out your media library. Sign up for one of our price plans here for unlimited monthly support.