How To Use WP-DBManager WordPress Database Plugin (original) (raw)
Recently I have talked about the Advanced database cleaner plugin and how you can reduce the database size of your blog. I have mentioned about WP-DB manager plugin many times, and I realize it’s important to write a detailed post about this plugin.
I like this plugin not because it’s free, I like it because it offers many features that a WordPress blogger will need from time to time.
This plugin offers database backup (You can schedule backup too), but I’m more interested in other features, and I will be talking about them in this post. Let me start with the features of this plugin.
Features of WP-DB Manager plugin:
As the name suggested, this is a WordPress database plugin which makes it easier for you to access your database from WordPress dashboard. The best part is, the user interface is designed for non-technical users who can quickly get things done without getting overwhelmed with the plenty of options.
This plugin offers the various feature which you will require once in a while. If you want to look at features while I explain it to you, I suggest you Install and activate this plugin right now.
Here is the download link from WordPress plugin repo.
Once the plugin is activated, you can access the settings and start using this plugin from the left panel of your WordPress dashboard.
Here are the features:
- Database: Here you can see the details about your database and tables name with the index usage. What good here is, you can quickly find out which table is using tons of records. After using this feature, I realized that the redirection plugin 404 error log feature was making my database bulky. Similarly, you can find out which one of your plugins is adding too many records in your WordPress database.
- Backup DB: This feature will let you take a backup of your blog database. You can either gZip or take backup without compression. I recommend using gZip when your database size is big.
- Manage Backup DB: Here you can see the total number of back up the database and download it. Similarly, you can also use this feature to restore your blog from an existing database. Just to give you an idea, your backup is incomplete without the WP-content folder (You can download it via FTP).
- Optimize DB: This feature will let you optimize the database of your blog. You also have the control to select or deselect any table which you don’t want to optimize.
- Repair DB: Many times you will notice your blog homepage is showing no posts & it happens due to a corrupt database ( In the majority of the cases). Using this functionality, you can quickly repair your database. In the last 11 years, I have used this feature at least 3-4 times. Something you should know as you may need this feature any day.
- Empty Drop tables: Using this you can empty the records of any table or simply remove the table from your database. I suggest using this feature with caution else you might end up breaking your blog. This feature is useful when you have to remove the log entries from any existing plugin (Ex: Redirection or 404 plugins) and when you need to remove a plugin table which you have disabled.
- Run SQL Query: When you need to run SQL query this feature will let you run the query right from your WordPress dashboard. I have mentioned a few queries in my earlier post on optimizing WordPress database size, which will be a good place for you to get started.
- DB Options: Here you can configure your backup options including the path where you want to take backup of your database. You can also configure how often your blog database should be backed up, optimized and repaired automatically. I suggest you don’t use optimize and repair feature, as it’s good if you manually do it once in a month.
Also read: How To Improve WordPress Performance With Advanced Database Cleaner Plugin
How to use WP-DB Manager WordPress plugin?
In the above tutorial, I have shared how and when to use specific features, and for now, you can start by taking a backup of your database and optimizing your database.
You can also configure this plugin to take automatic backup of your database, but I would recommend some other plugin which can take database backup along with your WP-content folder. (You can’t restore a blog on a new server just with database backup).
Note: When you will install this plugin you will see a notice at the top of your backend dashboard: “Your backup folder MIGHT be visible to the public, ” and you need to copy the htaccess.txt file from plugins/wp-dbmanager/htaccess.txt to wp-content/backup-db/.htaccess (Do notice that you need to rename the htaccess.txt to .htaccess after moving the file).
Here is a video guide for using WP-DB manager plugin and I have also highlighted a few best practices for your database in this video.
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You can browse more videos related to Blogging and WordPress on my YouTube Channel here.
To end with, WP-Db manager plugin is one of the best multi-purpose database plugins for your WordPress blog. Even if you don’t need it now, you should know about it as this will be handy in the time of crisis.
If you want me to review any other plugin, you can let me know via comments.
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A Blogger, Author and a speaker! Harsh Agrawal is recognized as a leader in digital marketing and FinTech space. Fountainhead of ShoutMeLoud, and a Speaker at ASW, Hero Mindmine, Inorbit, IBM, India blockchain summit. Also, an award-winning blogger.
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