When you request a website restore via your web-host, it may initiate the creation and storage of additional tables in your database. These particular tables are often created with a timestamp at the end of them. They’ll looks something like this: [table]_[timestamp]
Your website only pulls from tables without timestamps so these additional timestamped tables just take up space. They can take up so much space, in fact, that they can hinder the ability to run backup requests. Bloated databases can burden server performance so it’s good to declutter your databases after you run website restore requests.
To declutter your database of unnecessary tables, do this:
- Log into your web-host dashboard
- Locate the panel that lists your MySQL Databases
- click phpMyAdmin next to the associated database
- Log in with the associated database credentials
- When in the phpMyAdmin panel, click the database name on the left side bar
- From the list of tables, click the check box to the left of each table you want to delete
- After you’ve made your selection, scroll down to the bottom to find a dropdown that defaults to With selected:
- Click on the dropdown and select, Drop
- The next screen will show a list of the tables you’ve selected and asks you if you’re sure you want to delete said tables
- Click Ok
