There’s a holiday observed on the second Monday in February that you probably haven’t heard of. Today is National Clean Out Your Computer Day! Think of it as getting a head start before Spring cleaning; take some time today to do some much needed cleaning work to your computer. Here’s some steps to help clean up your digital space.
Server Cleanup!
By “cleaning” your server(s), you can save bandwidth and speed up your website.
1. Monitor Server Resources. Make sure you are not near peak resource limit by taking a look at your server’s CPU, RAM, and disk. If there’s nothing you can remove, you may consider upgrading your server. You can view all this in the “Resource Usage” section if you have a HostDime CORE account.
2. Optimize. Compress your larger files, like images, audio, and videos, that take up too much disk space. If you are a HostDime client with cPanel, go to “Software” section in cPanel, and select “Optimize Website”. This feature allows you to automatically compress certain types of content when that content is requested by visitors, which should make content delivery load faster.
3. Consolidate and archive old content. Take stock of the backend of your site and remove any web scripts, databases, or other files that are no longer in use or needed.
4.Ensure your CMS is current. Whether you use WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or some other CMS, it’s always best to update to the most current installation as they often come include much needed security improvements. Remember to perform a complete backup before updating, just in case something breaks. Speaking of…
5. Backup Accounts and Databases. After you finish cleaning, you should feel some piece of mind. What better way to achieve this than backing up your entire website database and preserving your data. We have tons of resources to help you achieve this:
- Backup Primer – Read this first!
- How to Back Up Your Clients’ Accounts Automatically
- How to Configure Backups on a Dedicated Server
- How to Backup Your Database
- How to Configure Remote Backups in cPanel
- How to Configure a Full cPanel Backup through SSH
Website Cleanup!
When cleaning house on your website, remember that every file on your website should serve a distinct purpose. Here’s 5 quick ways to remove clutter from your website:
1. Start removing images and media that distract or don’t direct users to the shopping cart.
2. Update the plugins you are using, and delete the ones you don’t need. Eliminate little used, third party plugins that slow down your site.
3. Look for Broken Links and Images. There’s a free WordPress plugin called “Broken Link Checker“, which will e-mail you every time there’s a broken link on your site.
4. Re-examine your “About” Page. More often than not, this page will be the second most visited page after the home page. Go over this with a fine tooth comb, and make sure there’s no outdated information.
5. Use the “Account Error Log” function in cPanel if your website has been acting dysfunctional. This shows the last 300 errors for your site. If the web server notices any site problems, it records them in an error log. The errors will list the date and time of the error, the IP address of the person triggering the error message, and a description of the problem.
E-Mail Cleanup!
An e-mail account’s quota limit is the amount of mail in megabytes that is allowed to be stored. After the limit is reached, any mail you would receive is instead sent back to the sender. Therefore, you must keep an eye on your account quota.
A few things to consider with the quota:
- Your mailbox’s trash folder is not included in the quota limit calculation.
- You are not allowed to exceed the quota set by your web host.
- You can’t set a quota greater than 2048 MB; if you want to exceed that amount, choose “Unlimited”.
- Increasing the quota isn’t instant, and may take a day to free up.
What about your personal e-mail? Here’s a few e-mail cleaning suggestions.
1. You could take the scorched earth approach, and delete everything in one fell swoop. You will notice that the world hasn’t ended and you will be just fine.
2. For many of us, this option isn’t feasible, and each message must be looked at. Archive the few important e-mails you need, and then eliminate the rest.
3. While deleting your emails, unsubscribe from any newsletters and subscriptions that you now regret signing up for.
4. Sometimes it is easier to sort your email by sender. This allows you to archive all of your important emails and mass delete newsletters, automatic emails, and other repeat sender emails.
5. Get in the habit of cleaning out your e-mail once a month if you are not in the habit of deleting them immediately. Also, remove old email addresses that are no longer in use to crack down on spam issues and save some server space.
That’s all I got. If you have any helpful cleaning tips, please comment below.
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HostDime.com, Inc is a global data center infrastructure provider offering an array of cloud products from managed hosting servers to colocation services that cater to a range of clients, from entry-level to enterprise-level operations. HostDime owns and operates infrastructure and networks in seven countries, with its flagship facility in Orlando, Florida.
Jared S. is HostDime’s Content and SEO Strategist. Add him on Twitter.