Applies to: Managed WordPress

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Upload files with SFTP on Managed WordPress

Over time, it's easy for WordPress media libraries to become cluttered with images, videos, and other files that are no longer needed. Deleting this unused media can help free up valuable server space and improve your site's performance. Taking the time to purge unused media periodically keeps your library organized, minimizes your web hosting storage usage, and can give your site a speed boost by eliminating unnecessary files. Here's how to permanently remove unused media from your WordPress site.

Select the media removal steps that meet your specific needs.

Delete individual media in the WordPress Dashboard

  1. Sign in to WordPress.
  2. From the WordPress Dashboard and on the left-hand menu under Media, select Library.
  3. Select the media you want to delete.
  4. From the Attachment details screen, select Delete permanently.
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  5. Read the pop-up message warning about permanently deleting the item from your site, and then, select OK.
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You have successfully deleted the media you selected!

Delete bulk media in the WordPress Dashboard

  1. Sign in to WordPress.
  2. From the WordPress Dashboard and on the left-hand menu under Media, select Library.
  3. Select Bulk select, and then select all the media you want to delete.
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  4. Select Delete permanently.
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  5. Read the pop-up message warning about permanently deleting the item from your site, and then, select OK.
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You have successfully deleted the media you selected!

Delete media with the File Manager

  1. Go to your GoDaddy product page.
  2. On your My Products page, select Managed WordPress to expand the list of your sites.
  3. For the site you want to access files for, select Manage.
  4. Select Settings in the upper-left corner of the page.
  5. Under Tools and next to File Browser, select Open.
    Select Open
  6. Select the folder your media is stored in.
    Note: In a WordPress site, the media files are stored within the wp-content/uploads/ folder. The media is further distributed into folders based on when you uploaded the media files. As an example, if you upload media in January of 2025, the folder will be wp-content/uploads/2025/01.
  7. Select the media you want to delete, and then select Delete.
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  8. A confirmation screen will pop up with information about what you're deleting, select Delete.
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You have successfully deleted the media you selected!

Delete media with SFTP

Required: You'll need a standard file transfer protocol (FTP) app to connect and manage content for your site. There are many third-party FTP apps available; we recommend FileZilla.
Note: These steps assume you're using the FileZilla FTP app. If you're using a different app you'll want to use the instructions provided by the app developer to access SFTP.
  1. Sign in to your site with an FTP client (If you don't know your SFTP info, you can follow these instructions to view your hostname, username and change your password).
  2. In the Remote site area of FileZilla, select the folder your media is stored in.
    Note: In a WordPress site, the media files are stored within the wp-content/uploads/ folder. The media is further distributed into folders based on when you uploaded the media files. As an example, if you upload media in January of 2025, the folder will be wp-content/uploads/2025/01.
  3. Select the media you want to delete, right-click on your selection, and select Delete.
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  4. Read the pop-up message warning about deleting the media from the server, and then, select Yes.

You have successfully deleted the media you selected!

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