Posted on 12 April, 2010 By
Kim Woodbridge
11 Comments
8 WordPress Spring Cleaning Tips
A year ago I wrote an article about WordPress spring cleaning that discussed all of the updates and changes I had made to this website in honor of spring.
This year I am still working on a number of items so I have compiled a list of WordPress spring cleaning tips that aren’t solely specific to this site.
- Upgrade WordPress – Upgrade WordPress to the current version. As of this writing it is 2.9.2. WordPress 3.0 is due for release very soon and even if you don’t plan on upgrading to that version immediately, at least upgrade to the current version.
- Update Plugins – Update plugins to the current versions. But, check their compatibility to make sure that aren’t any issues with the new version and your version of WordPress. The best plugins don’t tend to get abandoned and are upgraded along with WordPress.
- Delete Plugins – Remove any plugins that aren’t in use unless you have a very good reason for keeping them on your site. For example, I have one that I have not used in some time but I customized it and want to keep it available in case I decide to use it again. Plugins that aren’t in use, can pose a security risk so it’s best to remove anything that isn’t being used.
- Delete Draft Revisions – If you’re like me and save obsessively and work on articles over time, you will have a lot of revisions taking up unnecessary space in your WordPress database. Last year, I wrote an article about how to turn off draft revisions completely. You can also install the delete revisions plugin and remove them on a periodic basis.
- Remove Broken Links – The Broken Link Checker plugin will, you guessed it, look for broken links. As a site grows older many of the articles that were linked to may no longer exist. I’ve been going through some of my theme articles and have found that the themes no longer exist. I know I get annoyed when I think I’ve found the perfect information online and then the link is no longer valid.
- Check Static Pages – is your about page out of date (mine sure is, if anything I weigh less ;-)? Do you other static pages need to be updated? Should the content be rewritten or rearranged.
- Sidebars - Do your sidebars contain pertinent information or do you have bling just for the sake of bling? Are your sidebars useful to your users? I know that I need to figure out what to do with my list of archives. Now that the site is getting older, the list is getting too long. One possible solution is using the Clean Archives Reloaded plugin, which I wrote about quite a while back. My success with the plugin, however, has been mixed. Anyway, that is one area on my sidebar that I need to deal with.
- Backups – Make backups! It is especially important to backup your database. Maybe now would be a good time to develop a backup plan – not only for WordPress but for all of your important info stored on your computer. If there is one truth to harddrives it is that they will eventually fail
How about you? Is there anything that you would add to this list?
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April 12, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Delete draft revisions – is the plugin safe? have you used it?
.-= vered – blogger for hire´s last blog ..For Miep, Every Day Is Holocaust Remembrance Day =-.
April 12, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Hi Vered – I do use that plugin and haven’t any problems with it. I deactivate it when I’m not using it and then activate when I’m going to clean things up. The first time I used it I was nervous because it says “delete” and I was afraid it would remove more than revisions ;-)
The plugin author is not a native English speaker so some of the wording on the plugin page is odd but it doesn’t affect how the plugin works.
April 12, 2010 at 4:09 pm
“The first time I used it I was nervous because it says “delete” and I was afraid it would remove more than revisions” – exactly! Thanks… I do have lots of old revisions that should probably be removed.
.-= vered – blogger for hire´s last blog ..For Miep, Every Day Is Holocaust Remembrance Day =-.
April 13, 2010 at 9:45 am
I would say to remember to check for the latest version of the premium theme you use.
Also, there are some great spring based free themes to consider for a little fun – I think you may have highlighted some in the past.
Oh and congrats to the Union. Looks like the beautiful game is alive and well in Philly!
George
.-= George Angus´s last blog ..The Story of Charlie Z – Write The Ending =-.
April 13, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Hi George,
Updating the theme is a great idea – I forget about the one because I don’t use one but I should remember since I update them for others frequently.
I did a spring theme listing about a year ago :-)
Apparently Sats game was chaos because Joe Biden was there – people couldn’t get through the gates before the match started. It kind of looks like little league to me though after watching Premiere League – at least Philly has a team :-)
April 13, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Excellent reminder post; perfect for me now in the middle of building the blog. :)
Turning off revisions altogether – I forgot, do you recommend this?
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..New Updated Long Detailed Comment Policy Coming very SOON! Among Others… =-.
April 13, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Hi Dennis – If you don’t use revisions, you could turn them off completely. I think it comes down to personal preference. They don’t use that much space in the database but they really do build up over time.
April 14, 2010 at 3:11 pm
I think I used one once in the years I’ve been blogging, and that was by accident. lol
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..New Updated Long Detailed Comment Policy Coming very SOON! Among Others… =-.
April 17, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Hey Kim,
I always keep my WP updated and as you know it is a mandatory thing for every WP user to keep his blog safe.
You have mentioned all the legit and crucial points that one must take care for the maintenance of their blog. However among all these point removing the broken links is something that takes greater time and toil.
April 19, 2010 at 7:29 am
Hi Rick – If you run the broken link checker and it finds a lot of them, it can definitely takes some time to go through them. But the plugin is better than trying to locate them manually ;-)
April 25, 2010 at 3:01 pm
yea it can be really time consuming if I go for it manually..