Transient Cleaner vs Performance Optimisation

Clean expired transients from your options table. The original and best! Transient housekeeping was added to the core of WordPress after version 5.8. However, I have decided to open up this plugin to all versions to allow for manual transient cleaning. Longer term I am working on a new version of the plugin, designed specifically for all WordPress releases. Tested up to PHP 8.2 Fully complies with WordPress coding standards Compliant with the stronger WordPress VIP coding standards, as well as compatibility with their platform Community plugin – visit the Github page to get involved with the latest code development, request enhancements and report issues “Transients are a simple and standardized way of storing cached data in the WordPress database temporarily by giving it a custom name and a timeframe after which it will expire and be deleted.” Unfortunately, expired transients only get deleted when you attempt to access them. If you don’t access the transient then, even though it’s expired, WordPress will not remove it. This is a known “issue” but due to reasons, which are explained in the FAQ, this has not been adequately resolved. Why is this a problem? Transients are often used by plugins to “cache” data (my own plugins included). Because of this it means that expired data can be left and build up, resulting in a bloated database table. Meantime, this plugin is the hero that you’ve been waiting for. Simply activate the plugin, sit back and enjoy a much cleaner, smaller options table. It also adds the additional recommendation that after a database upgrade all transients will be cleared down. The Settings Screen Within Administration -> Tools -> Transients an options screen exists allowing you to tweak when you’d like cleaning to happen, including the ability to perform an ad-hoc run, and when you’d like the to be automatically scheduled. You can even request an optimization of the options table to give your system a real “pep”! Running in Lite mode A “lite” mode is available. By activating this the options screen will no longer appear and default settings will be used. The advantage? Improved performance to Admin and, especially if you’re running multi-site, no chance of anybody “tinkering” with the settings. To activate, use the following… define( 'TC_LITE', true ); This should be added to your wp-config.php file. Using hooks If you’re the type of odd person who likes to code for WordPress (really?) then I’ve added a couple of hooks so you can call our rather neat cleaning functions… housekeep_transients – this will clear down any expired transients clear_all_transients – this will remove any and all transients, expired or otherwise Acknowledgements I’d like to thank WordPress Developer Andrew Nacin for his early discussion on this. Also, I’d like to acknowledge the useful article at Everybody Staze for ensuring the proposed solution made sense, and W-Shadow.com for the cleaning code. Iconography is courtesy of the very talented Janki Rathod.

Performance Optimisation is a free, all-in-one speed plugin that makes your WordPress site faster — without the complexity. Fully compatible with popular themes and page builders (Elementor, Divi, Astra, GeneratePress, Kadence, WooCommerce, Yoast SEO, Rank Math). Page caching, file minification, image optimization, lazy loading, database cleanup, and Redis object cache — all from one clean dashboard. Why choose Performance Optimisation? Most performance plugins either do too little or overwhelm you with dozens of confusing settings. This plugin gives you everything you need to speed up WordPress in one place, with safe defaults and clear explanations for every option. Simple to use: Clean, modern dashboard. Enable what you need, leave the rest off. No guesswork. Powerful features: Page cache, JS/CSS/HTML minify, WebP/AVIF image conversion, lazy loading, Redis object cache, database cleanup — the full stack. Safe by default: Aggressive options like defer JS, delay JS, and WooCommerce asset removal are off by default with clear warnings when you turn them on. Works everywhere: Shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, Apache, Nginx — it adapts to your environment. What does this plugin do? 🚀 Page Caching Generate static HTML files for your pages so they load instantly. Includes Gzip compression, CDN support, and smart cache clearing when you update content. 📦 File Optimization Minify and combine JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. Defer or delay render-blocking scripts. Remove WordPress bloat like emojis, embeds, dashicons, and XML-RPC. 🖼️ Image Optimization Convert images to next-gen WebP and AVIF formats automatically. Lazy load images, iframes, and videos with lightweight SVG placeholders. Preload critical images for faster LCP. ⚡ Preloading & Prefetching Warm up your cache automatically. Preconnect to third-party origins, prefetch DNS, and preload critical fonts and CSS for faster page rendering. 🗄️ Database Cleanup Remove post revisions, auto-drafts, spam comments, expired transients, and orphaned metadata. Schedule automated cleanups daily, weekly, or monthly. 🔴 Redis Object Cache Built-in Redis object cache with support for standalone, Sentinel, and Cluster topologies. TLS/SSL encryption included. No separate plugin needed. 📊 Performance Monitor Built-in performance scanner that measures real load times, TTFB, DNS resolution, and Core Web Vitals — right from your WordPress dashboard. 🛠️ Developer Friendly System Info dashboard, Google PageSpeed Insights integration, per-page asset manager, and import/export settings. Who is this plugin for? Site owners who want a faster website without hiring a developer. Freelancers and agencies who need a reliable speed plugin they can deploy across client sites. Developers who want granular control over caching, minification, and delivery without vendor lock-in. This plugin uses voku/html-min for HTML minification, matthiasmullie/minify for JavaScript and CSS minification, and woocommerce/action-scheduler for background job processing.