Why is My Database So Large?
One common question we hear from our members is this:
“My hosting company tells me my database is too large. But, I’m not sure what’s causing it.”
Here is an easy way to find out why your database has grown so large:
Login to your hosting account
In this example, we’re going to use CPanel because that’s the most common control panel used by hosting companies. Your hosting company may be slightly different.
- Login to your hosting account and look for the Databases area.
- You’re looking for database access, which is often via a tool called phpMyadmin. Click the phpMyAdmin link if you find it:
- Look for the database table that runs your site. In this case, the database name is marked. If you don’t know what your database name is, try looking inside the configuration or settings area for your site.
- You’ll now see a list of your database content. Look for the Size column on the right-hand side:
- Click the Size title and your database will re-organize with the largest rows on top:
- Now look over the left-hand side and note the names of the largest data rows. These contain the most data and are most culpable for your database size:
