WPML includes a database optimization feature to clean up and reduce the size of the wp_icl_translate and wp_icl_translation_status tables.
How the Optimization Works
WPML’s one-time database table optimization process:
- Cleans up outdated or unnecessary data from translation tables
- Stores new data in a more compact format using compression
- Helps prevent future database bloat by reusing freed-up space
While the optimization reduces the amount of data in the tables, it doesn’t shrink the disk file. Reclaiming disk space would require manually rebuilding the tables, which is not part of this process.
How to Run the Database Tables Optimization
To reduce the size of WPML database tables:
- Go to WPML → Support and click Database & strings maintenance
- Scroll to the Database Tables Optimization section
- Tick I understand and want to proceed, then click Optimize translation tables
Running the database tables optimization
Every tool on this screen writes straight to WPML’s tables and can lose translations. Make a full database backup before you run this one.