Optimizing Disk Space and Inode Usage in WordPress: Why is it Important?
When you acquire WordPress hosting for your website, you are provided with a specific disk space and inode limit.
Inodes store metadata for files, including their size and physical location. Inode usage refers to the number of files and folders present in your hosting account.
Initially, these limits may not be a concern when you are just starting out. However, as your WordPress site expands, more files and folders will consume disk space and utilize inodes. Once you reach the allotted limits set by your WordPress hosting company, you may encounter several issues on your site.
For instance, you may be unable to send or receive emails through your website, experience difficulties uploading images and other content to the media library, and face challenges when updating content on pages and posts.
A full disk space can also cause problems for your visitors while accessing your website. Moreover, if you lack sufficient disk space, migrating your site to another host may not be feasible.
By reducing disk space usage and optimizing inodes, these issues can be resolved. Additionally, you will notice enhanced website performance and a seamless user experience.
Now, let’s explore how you can check the disk space usage on your WordPress site.
How to Monitor Disk Space Usage in WordPress
There are several methods available to monitor the disk space usage in WordPress. One of the easiest ways is by accessing the cPanel provided by your hosting service.
Most web hosting providers offer statistics and information regarding disk usage, file usage, email account count, and more.
For instance, if you are using Bluehost, you can simply log in to your account and navigate to the ‘Advanced’ tab in the left-hand menu. The column on the right side will display detailed statistics related to disk and file usage.
With that being said, let’s now explore the various approaches to increasing disk space and freeing up inodes in WordPress. You can use the provided links below to directly access your preferred section.
- Utilize Image Optimization Tools to Reduce File Size
An effective method to save disk space is by optimizing your images. Numerous tools are available to reduce image size without compromising quality. Additionally, modifying the file format (PNG, JPEG, GIF) and dimensions can lead to an 80% reduction in image size.
This not only conserves inode usage but also improves website loading speed. Faster website backups and enhanced SEO rankings are additional benefits.
Image optimization tools employ compression technology to decrease the file size of images. Popular options include photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Affinity, or web tools such as TinyPNG or JPEGmini. Additionally, there are WordPress plugins that automatically compress images upon upload.
For comprehensive information, please refer to our guide on optimizing images for web performance without compromising quality.
- Disable Automatic Generation of Image Sizes in WordPress
Did you know that when you upload an image to your WordPress website, multiple copies are created?
WordPress automatically generates various image sizes, including thumbnails, medium, and large sizes, in addition to the original image. These additional sizes occupy disk space and inodes on your website. Moreover, the backup size of your site increases due to multiple versions of the same image.
To prevent WordPress from generating unnecessary image sizes, you can utilize the “Stop Generating Unnecessary Thumbnails” plugin. This free plugin allows you to disable specific image sizes.
For detailed instructions, please consult our guide on preventing WordPress from generating image sizes.
- Avoid Uploading Videos to WordPress
To reduce disk space and inode usage, it is advisable to refrain from directly uploading videos to your WordPress site.
Uploading videos to your site consumes significant bandwidth and disk space, particularly if they are high-quality videos. Additionally, managing and displaying videos requires the use of additional plugins, further contributing to disk space usage.
A preferable alternative is to upload videos to platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo and then embed them on your site. This approach frees up disk space and bandwidth while also increasing the visibility of your videos, as YouTube is the second most popular search engine and the most visited video-sharing site.
For detailed instructions, please refer to our guide on easily embedding videos in WordPress blog posts.