Storage Monitor

Keep an eye on your hosting storage with a visual dashboard widget. See exactly how much space your uploads, plugins, and themes are consuming—essential for sites on hosting plans with storage limits.

Use Cases#

• Monitor storage on shared hosting with disk space limits to prevent overages
• Track upload folder growth on image-heavy sites or WooCommerce stores
• Identify which areas (uploads, plugins, themes) are consuming the most space

How It Works#

1. A dashboard widget appears on your main Dashboard page
2. Scans your wp-content directory for uploads, plugins, and themes
3. Displays total storage used with visual progress bars
4. Data is cached for 1 hour to avoid performance impact
5. Click “Refresh Data” to get updated numbers immediately

What It Monitors#

Dashboard Widget#

The widget displays:

• Total Storage Used - Sum of all monitored directories
• Uploads - Size and percentage of total
• Plugins - Size and percentage of total
• Themes - Size and percentage of total
• Visual Progress Bars - Color-coded breakdown

Color Coding#

Settings#

This module has no configuration options. Simply enable it to add the dashboard widget.

Verification#

After enabling this module:

1. Navigate to Dashboard → Home
2. Look for the “Storage Monitor” widget (labeled with SWITCHBOARD badge)
3. Verify storage numbers display for uploads, plugins, and themes
4. Click “Refresh Data” to update the cached values

Understanding Your Storage#

Large Uploads Folder?#

Common causes:

• High-resolution images not optimized
• Video files stored locally instead of YouTube/Vimeo
• Plugin backup files stored in uploads
• Old media files no longer in use

Solutions: Use image optimization, consider external video hosting, clean up unused media with the Unused Media Finder module.

Large Plugins Folder?#

Common causes:

• Many plugins installed
• Plugins with large asset libraries (page builders, icon packs)
• Plugin caching or backup files

Solutions: Remove unused plugins, consider lighter alternatives.

Large Themes Folder?#

Common causes:

• Multiple themes installed “just in case”
• Theme demo content not removed
• Theme backup or child theme duplicates

Solutions: Delete unused themes, keep only active theme and one default theme.

Caching#

Storage data is cached for 1 hour to prevent performance impact from repeatedly scanning directories.

• Automatic refresh: Data updates automatically after 1 hour
• Manual refresh: Click “Refresh Data” button in the widget
• After changes: Refresh manually after uploading files or installing plugins

FAQ#

Storage Optimization Tips#

1. Optimize images before uploading (use tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel)
2. Use WebP format for smaller image files with the WebP Conversion module
3. Delete unused media with the Unused Media Finder module
4. Remove unused themes (keep only active + one default)
5. Audit plugins regularly and remove what you don’t need
6. Use external hosting for large video files (YouTube, Vimeo, Bunny.net)