WooCommerce Abandoned Image Cleanup

A comprehensive WordPress plugin that scans your entire website to identify and safely remove truly abandoned images - checking products, content, custom fields, theme settings, and database meta to ensure only genuinely unused images are flagged for deletion.

Description

Over time, WooCommerce stores accumulate unused images from deleted products, test uploads, or images that were never assigned to products. This plugin performs a comprehensive scan of your entire website - not just products, but also pages, posts, product descriptions, custom fields, theme settings, and all database meta fields - to identify truly abandoned images that are not being used anywhere on your site.

Features

• Simple Scan Interface: One-click scanning with a clear, easy-to-use admin interface
• Comprehensive Site-Wide Scanning: Thoroughly checks your entire website including:
  • Product Images: Featured images, galleries, and variation images
  • Content: All posts, pages, and product descriptions (HTML content)
  • Custom Fields: Product meta fields and custom post meta
  • Database: All postmeta entries for image references
  • Theme Settings: Logos, backgrounds, banners from theme customizer
  • Options: Site-wide settings that may reference images
  • All Image Sizes: Checks thumbnails, medium, large, and custom sizes
• Smart Detection: Only flags truly abandoned images, protecting logos and content images
• Visual Results: Displays abandoned images in a familiar media library grid layout
• Easy Bulk Selection: Select individual images or use "Select All" for bulk operations
• Safe Deletion: Multiple warnings and confirmation prompts before deletion
• Detailed Statistics: View total images, images in use, and abandoned image counts
• Responsive Design: Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile devices

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8 or higher
• WooCommerce 5.0 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher

Installation

Option 1: Manual Installation

1. Download the plugin files
2. Upload the woocommerce-abandoned-image-cleanup folder to /wp-content/plugins/
3. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
4. Navigate to WooCommerce > Abandoned Images to start using the plugin

Option 2: WordPress Admin

1. Go to Plugins > Add New
2. Click Upload Plugin
3. Choose the plugin zip file
4. Click Install Now
5. Activate the plugin

Usage

1. Navigate to the Plugin

   • Go to WooCommerce > Abandoned Images in your WordPress admin

2. Start a Scan

   • Click the large SCAN button
   • The plugin will analyze your media library and WooCommerce products
   • This may take a few moments depending on your library size

3. Review Results

   • View statistics showing total images, used images, and abandoned images
   • Browse the grid of abandoned images (if any are found)
   • Each image shows thumbnail, title, file size, and upload date

4. Select Images to Delete

   • Click individual images to select them
   • Or use the Select All checkbox to select all abandoned images
   • The selected count updates as you make selections

5. Delete Images

   • Click Delete Selected button
   • Confirm the deletion warning (reminder to backup)
   • Selected images will be permanently removed

Important Notes

⚠️ Backup Warning

ALWAYS create a backup of your media library before deleting images!

Deleted images are removed permanently and cannot be recovered. The plugin shows multiple warnings, but it's your responsibility to ensure you have backups.

What Images Are Considered "Abandoned"?

An image is considered abandoned if it meets ALL of these criteria:

• It exists in your WordPress media library
• It is NOT used as a featured image for any product
• It is NOT in any product gallery
• It is NOT used by any product variation
• It is NOT referenced in any post or page content
• It is NOT used in any product description
• It is NOT stored in any custom field or meta data
• It is NOT referenced in theme settings (logos, backgrounds, etc.)
• It is NOT found in the options table

How Comprehensive is the Scan?

The plugin performs a deep scan of your entire WordPress database:

• ✅ Scans all product images (featured, galleries, variations)
• ✅ Searches HTML content of all posts, pages, and products
• ✅ Checks all postmeta fields for image IDs and URLs
• ✅ Examines theme customizer settings
• ✅ Searches options table for image references
• ✅ Checks all image sizes (thumbnail, medium, large, custom)
• ✅ Handles both image IDs and URLs
• ✅ Processes serialized data in meta fields

This ensures that logos, featured images in blog posts, images in product descriptions, and any other actively used images are never flagged as abandoned.

Screenshots

Admin Interface

The main scanning interface with clear instructions and warnings.

Scan Results

View detailed statistics and a grid of all abandoned images.

Bulk Selection

Easy selection and deletion with multiple safety warnings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will this delete images used in blog posts or pages?

A: No! Version 1.2.0 and above performs a comprehensive scan of your entire site. Images used in posts, pages, product descriptions, or anywhere else on your site are protected and will NOT be flagged as abandoned.

Q: What about my logo and theme images?

A: These are safe! The plugin scans theme customizer settings, options table, and all meta fields to ensure logos, backgrounds, and other theme images are never flagged as abandoned.

Q: What happens to deleted images?

A: Images are permanently deleted (bypassing the trash). They cannot be recovered unless you have a backup.

Q: Does this work with variable products?

A: Yes! The plugin scans all product types including variable products and their variations.

Q: Will this affect my site performance during scan?

A: The scan may take a few moments for large sites as it performs a comprehensive database search. However, it only reads data and doesn't modify anything until you explicitly delete images. The scan is performed via AJAX so it won't interrupt your work.

Q: Does it check product descriptions?

A: Yes! The plugin checks all post content including product descriptions. If an image is used in a product's short or long description, it will be marked as "in use."

Q: What about images in custom fields?

A: Absolutely! The plugin scans all postmeta and custom fields, including serialized data, to find image references.

Q: How often should I run scans?

A: Run scans periodically based on your needs - monthly or quarterly is typical for most stores.

Support

For bug reports and feature requests, please use the GitHub repository.

Changelog

1.3.0

• Simplified & Improved Scanning: Complete rewrite of scanning logic
• Direct database search approach for better accuracy and performance
• For each image, searches filename in wp_posts, wp_postmeta, and wp_options tables
• Uses WordPress prepared statements for security
• Faster execution with LIMIT 1 queries
• More reliable detection of abandoned images
• Fixes issue where no abandoned images were being found

1.2.0

• Major Enhancement: Comprehensive site-wide scanning
• Scan all posts, pages, and product content for image references
• Check product descriptions and custom fields
• Scan all postmeta entries for image IDs and URLs
• Check theme customizer settings (logos, backgrounds, etc.)
• Search options table for image references
• Handle all image sizes (thumbnail, medium, large, custom)
• Process serialized data in meta fields
• Smart detection to protect logos and content images
• Updated UI to reflect "Images in Use" instead of "Product Images"
• Improved accuracy - only truly abandoned images are flagged

1.1.0

• Add WooCommerce HPOS (High-Performance Order Storage) compatibility
• Declare compatibility with custom order tables feature

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Scan media library for abandoned images
• Display results in media library style grid
• Bulk selection and deletion
• Comprehensive safety warnings
• Statistics dashboard

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPL v2 or later.

Credits

Developed by dcArock

Remember: Always backup your media library before using this plugin!