Delete Unused Files in WordPress & Free Up Space

Running a WordPress site often involves constantly adding images, videos, and documents.

Over time, this leads to a bloated media library, slowing down your website, increasing backup sizes, and eating up server space.

Since IsItWP is a WordPress website we update daily, we often face these issues. On top of that, as WordPress experts, we’ve helped many WordPress users optimize their sites.

As a result, we have seen firsthand how a large number of media files can affect a WordPress site’s speed and performance. 

That’s why we’re excited about WPCode’s Remove Unused Media feature in their Search & Replace Everything plugin. 

This tool makes cleaning up your media library safe and efficient.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to identify and remove unused media files without breaking your WordPress website.

Want to directly skip to the step-by-step tutorial on How to Remove Unused Files from Your Media Library?

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Why Removing Unused Media Files is Important

At the IsItWP Blog, we create easy-to-read tutorials, reviews and list articles around WordPress themes, tools, and plugins.

As these WordPress resources evolve, their features also get a facelift. This means that we need to create new screenshots, images, and videos to reflect these changes.

As we update our posts with new media files, the old ones become redundant and end up sitting and cluttering our WordPress library. 

As you can see from our experience managing WordPress sites, a cluttered media library can harm your website’s performance.

Here’s how:

• Slower Site Speed: Extra media files increase database size and can slow down page loads.
• Larger Backups: Unused media inflates your backup files, making them take longer to complete.
• Wasted Hosting Space: Many top hosting companies have limited storage. This means deleting unnecessary files can help you stay within your limits.
• Difficult Site Management: Finding important images in a messy media library can be frustrating.

As you can see, a clean media library means a faster, more efficient website.

Common Challenges of Manually Deleting Unused Media

Before the Remove Unused Media feature in the Search & Replace Everything WPCode plugin, we had to remove unwanted media by hand. My team and I felt like we were sorting through boxes in a cluttered attic.

This old way had many challenges:

• WordPress doesn’t track unused files: WordPress doesn’t tell you which files aren’t needed. In fact, it doesn’t keep track of what’s being used and what’s just taking up space. You’re left playing detective, trying to figure out which files are actually needed. We used to spend countless hours just trying to sort through my media library last year!
• Manually checking each file is time-consuming: Going through each file by hand takes a lot of time. Imagine having to check every single book in a library to see if anyone’s read it lately – that’s what this feels like! When dealing with a site with thousands of images, this task can take forever.
• Deleting the wrong files can break your site: This one’s scary. If you accidentally remove an image used in a post, theme, or plugin, you’ll end up with broken image links everywhere. It’s like removing a piece from a jigsaw puzzle and finding the picture incomplete. We have seen how a small mistake can lead to broken links in posts, themes, or plugins, leaving a site with missing pieces. We learned this lesson the hard way after breaking a client’s homepage header!
• Database records remain: Even after you delete media files, their leftover records can clutter your site. It’s similar to cleaning your closet but leaving the old tags and receipts behind. Over time, these extra bits can make the database feel full and messy, even if the files are gone.

Remember, managing your site can sometimes feel like tending to a garden—each task needs care to keep everything blooming beautifully. And like tending a garden, these issues built up like small hurdles over time.

That’s why we recommend using an automated solution like WPCode’s Remove Unused Media feature.

Introducing the Remove Unused Media Feature in WPCode

WPCode was born from pure frustration. The kind of frustration that leads to amazing solutions!

A team of WordPress experts who had spent over a decade building websites got fed up with doing everything by hand.

They kept running into the same problems day after day. Every time they needed to add custom code, they’d have to dig through files, make careful edits, and cross their fingers, hoping nothing would break.

As a result, WPCode was created.

WPCode is perfect for helping anyone without technical experience easily add code snippets to their WordPress site. To make your WordPress customization experience even better, WPCode offers a snippet library.

On top of that, you can also create your custom code snippet, save it, and use it across your WordPress properties.

To learn more about this amazing plugin, check out the latest WPCode review here.

But, the problem with WPCode is it cannot help streamline data consistency.

That is why this team of developers developed a new plugin called Search & Replace Everything.

Search & Replace Everything can help you search and replace text across your database. Just like with WPCode, you can also preview changes before making it permanent.

But this WPCode plugin is still evolving as well. As a result, one of their newest features can help you remove unused images and other media files.

The Remove Unused Media feature is designed to help you find and safely delete unused files without causing issues.

Let us show you how.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Remove Unused Media Files

Unlike other tools, Search & Replace Everything scans your entire database to check whether a media file is actually in use before deleting it. This ensures that you don’t remove important images by mistake.

Here’s how you can use this tool to clean up your media library. You can select any of the links below to skip to the step you want to read.

With that said, let us show you how to remove unused images and files from your WordPress media library.

Step 1: Install and Activate Search & Replace Everything

The first step is to install WPCode’s Search & Replace Everything plugin. If you already have WPCode installed, Search & Replace Everything is built right into it, making the setup process quick and easy.

To unlock Search & Replace Everything with WPCode installed, head to Code Snippets » Search & Replace.

Then, on this page, select ‘Install Search & Replace Everything” at the bottom of the screen.

This will install and activate the plugin automatically to your WordPress dashboard. After this, you can access it by going to Tools » WP Search & Replace.

But you may specifically want to use the Search & Replace Everything plugin without WPCode.

The good news is that WPCode offers a free version of Search & Replace Everything.

So, if you want to try Search & Replace Everything Lite, you can install it directly from your WordPress dashboard.

To do this, head to Plugins » Add New Plugin.

Here, look for “Search & Replace Everything by WPCode,” then click Install Now and Activate.

If you face any issues, check out this guide on how to install WordPress plugins.

Once installed, you’ll find it under Tools » WP Search & Replace, ready to use.

This free tool can help you manage website content right from your WordPress admin.

The free version of Search & Replace Everything lets you quickly find and replace text, images, or media across your entire database. It has options like table selection, case sensitivity, and previewing changes.

It is ideal for site migrations or content updates, making it a smooth and efficient option even for large websites.

But, to ensure we show you everything this WordPress plugin can do when removing unused media files, we will use the pro version for this tutorial.

How to Get the Pro Version

You’ll need the Pro version to unlock the full potential of WPCode’s Search & Replace Everything plugin. This gives you access to advanced features, including unlimited image replacements, a database table picker, and more.

To get started, visit the official WPCode website and head over to the Search & Replace Everything page. After this, hit the “Get Search & Replace Everything” button, and you’ll be redirected to the pricing page.

Next, choose a plan that works best for your needs. Luckily, Search & Replace Everything offers multiple pricing options, so you can find one that fits your budget and needs.

Once you’ve completed your purchase, log into your WPCode account and navigate to the “Downloads” section. Here, you’ll find the Search & Replace Everything zip file.

Next, download the file to your computer, and while you’re there, copy your License Key—you’ll need it to activate the pro version of the plugin.

Now, open your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins » Add New Plugin. On this page, select “Upload Plugin” and choose the zip file you just downloaded.

Once done, hit “Install Now.”

After the installation, select Activate to enable the plugin on your site.

After this, go to Tools » WP Search & Replace and open the “Settings” tab. On this screen, paste the License Key you copied earlier into the text bar.

Finally, select “Verify Key” to activate the Pro version.

That’s it! You can now fully install Search & Replace Everything Pro. You’re ready to clean up your media library and keep your site running smoothly.

Step 2: Scan for Unused Media Files

Now, it’s time to scan your site for any media files that are no longer in use. This scan quickly shows you what media files are taking up space, making tidying up and optimizing your site easier.

To get started, go to Tools » WP Search & Replace. Then, select the “Remove Unused Media” tab.

From here, select Begin Scan and Search & Replace Everything will go through your media library, identifying any files not being used anywhere on your site.

The scan takes a few moments, and once it’s done, you’ll see a list of media files that may be safe to delete.

Step 3: Review and Delete Unused Files

One thing we appreciate about Search & Replace Everything is the details offered for each image after the scan. You will see a thumbnail, title, path, database occurrences, and size of each image.

This level of detail lets you see the full picture around each image, making it easier to make decisions. It also saves you time and prevents mistakes—like accidentally removing an image still in use.

So, before deleting anything, take a moment to review the list of unused files. While Search & Replace Everything does a great job identifying images not being used, it’s always a good idea to manually double-check.

Once done with verification, you have the option to “Delete Selected” or “Delete All.”

If you see any files you want to keep, simply uncheck them and use the Delete Selected option. Otherwise, you can use the Delete All option.

Again, this feature ensures you do not accidentally delete anything you need.

As you can see, this process is fast and automatic, so you don’t have to worry about manually deleting each file.

Remember, if you are unsure, you can always download a backup of the files before proceeding.

Congratulations! You can now delete unwanted media files from your WordPress website.

Optional Step: Replace Media File

Search & Replace Everything can also help you directly replace media files without manually using your WordPress media library.

This is a good alternative to deleting the file if you feel you might need it somewhere else but still want to update images on a post.

Again, this process is very simple.

All you have to do is head to Tools » WP Search & Replace and go to the “Replace Media” tab.

Here, you will find a list of all your recently uploaded files. Next, hover over the image you want to change and hit the Replace button.

After this, select “Choose a File” to upload a file from your PC.

Once uploaded, Search & Replace Everything will give you a quick preview of the new image. This will help you quickly see if it is the right image.

Finally, hit Replace Source File.

Once uploaded, you will notice that the new image will have and follow the same URL path as the deleted image. This means that your site will continue to reference it without any broken links.

As a result, it keeps everything in sync so all your pages display the updated image seamlessly.

That’s it. You can now replace media files in your WordPress Library using Search & Replace Everything.

Bonus Tip: Backup Best Practices Before Cleanup

Even though Search & Replace Everything is completely safe, we always recommend backing up your site before making major changes.

Having a good backup in place means you can make changes confidently, knowing that your data is secure and ready to be restored if anything unexpected happens.

That is why we recommend Duplicator as the best backup plugin.

Duplicator offers an easy restore feature that helps you get your site back up and running in a few clicks. This gives you peace of mind when making updates to your site with the Search & Replace Everything plugin.

Duplicator also provides a variety of storage options.

You can opt for cloud storage using services like Dropbox, Amazon S3, Google Drive, and more. On the other hand, choose manual storage on your local server.

On top of that, its Disaster Management feature helps you quickly recover your site if anything goes wrong.

Together, these features ensure that your data is safe and that you can use Search & Replace Everything confidently.

Check out the latest Duplicator review here.

If you are looking for alternatives to Duplicator, here is a list of the best Backup plugins to compare.

Additional Features of Search & Replace Everything

Aside from removing unused media files, WPCode’s Search & Replace Everything plugin offers several powerful features that make managing your WordPress site easier and more efficient.

Let us have a look at them:

Find and Replace Any Database Value

One of the most valuable features of Search & Replace Everything is its ability to search and replace any value in your database. This is useful when:

• Updating outdated URLs after switching from HTTP to HTTPS or moving to a new domain.
• Correcting a typo that appears across multiple posts or pages.
• Modifying metadata, such as post authors, SEO descriptions, or custom field values.

Instead of manually editing each entry, you can perform these updates in just a few clicks.

Search & Replace Everything ensures the process is fast, safe, and precise—helping you make changes across your site without breaking anything.

On top of that, here are other features you can expect from Search & Replace Everything.

• Real-Time Preview System: The preview feature serves as your safety net. This is because it offers a detailed side-by-side comparison of proposed changes. It acts like a skilled proofreader, showing you exactly what will change before you commit. As a result, you can prevent countless errors while replacing or changing anything in your databases.
• Secure Change Management: This feature automatically tracks and monitors every modification made to your database. From our experience managing large-scale websites, this feature has proven invaluable – especially when clients need to reverse course on major content changes.
• Native Gutenberg Integration: This WordPress plugin integrates directly within your existing WordPress editor environment, streamlining your workflow significantly. As a result, this integration saves valuable time and reduces the complexity of routine content updates.

Well done! You now understand WPCode’s Search & Replace Everything plugin, including the Remove Unused Media feature. On top of that, you also know about its other helpful features that keep your site running smoothly.

If you have any questions, check out commonly asked questions below.

FAQs: How to Remove Unused Files from Your Media Library

Final Thoughts

As WordPress experts, we’ve seen how cluttered media libraries slow down even well-optimized sites. That’s why we recommend the Search & Replace Everything’s Remove Unused Media feature—it’s the easiest and safest way to remove unused files without breaking your website.

WPCode’s Search & Replace Everything plugin isn’t just about removing unused media—it’s a complete site management tool that simplifies bulk editing and database updates.

If you’re looking for a way to optimize your WordPress site, reduce manual work, and improve efficiency, WPCode’s Search & Replace Everything is a must-have.

Apart from Search & Replace Everything, here is a list of the Best WordPress Database Tools to Clean and Optimize Site.

On top of that, here is a list of articles you may be interested in reading:

The first article walks you through how to fix the error of establishing a database connecting to a WordPress site. The next post lists the best client database software. While the last article teaches you how to save form data in a WordPress database.