WordPress is touted as a beginner-friendly platform, and for this reason, it’s a popular choice with many first-time website owners. You can accomplish a lot through WordPress without any technical knowledge required.

At the same time, if you want to get the most out of the platform, it pays to understand how some of its most basic elements work. For instance, after you’ve been using WordPress for a while, it’s a good idea to learn about how WordPress databases work.

Your site’s database is incredibly important, as it stores all the information required for your site to function. Some basic familiarity with it will help you better understand the platform you’re using, perform certain tasks more efficiently, and carry out troubleshooting.

In this post, we’re going to talk about what a WordPress database is and how it works. Plus, we’ll look at how to find and manage yours. Let’s get to work!

An Introduction to Databases

The concept of a “database” isn’t unique to WordPress. In simple terms, a database is an organized collection of data. This data is stored electronically, typically on a computer system, and can be accessed at will. Databases can be of any size and level of complexity.

What they all have in common is how they store a set of information in a way that makes it easy to access. The data within – such as records or files – is typically organized into rows, columns, and tables. In addition, databases are dynamic. You can add, delete, and modify the information within a database, as long as you have access to it.

Databases will typically have some kind of security measures to keep unauthorized users out since the data they contain can be sensitive in nature.

Why WordPress Requires a Database

You may not realize it, but your WordPress website is a lot more complex than it looks. There’s plenty going on behind the scenes to make it function properly, even if your site is fairly small. In particular, a WordPress website is made up of a lot of different types of data.

As you’ve probably guessed, all of this information is stored in a centralized WordPress database. This database is what makes it possible for your site to run and for changes that you or your visitors make to be saved. Some of the data stored in your WordPress database includes:

In other words, just about everything that makes up your site is located within its database. For this reason alone, it’s worth learning a little about how the database functions.

How Your WordPress Database Works

When you install a new WordPress website, part of the process involves creating a database for it. Generally, this will occur automatically. However, you can also create a database manually, or even use an existing database along with a new website.

Regardless, your database will almost always be stored on your hosting provider’s server. This is sometimes referred to as a “database host.” When a person visits your site, their browser sends a request to your site’s server. The server then sends along the data that’s needed to display the site and make it work properly. It’s also worth noting that a database requires its own set of software in order to function.

WordPress uses a database management system called MySQL, which is open source software. This means you’ll sometimes hear your site’s database referred to as a “MySQL database.” MySQL is what enables the database to store information and provide you with access to it. When data needs to be stored, altered, or deleted, WordPress sends a MySQL ‘query’ to the database. This simply means instructions are sent about which data should be affected, and what should be done with it.

Here’s an example of a fairly straightforward MySQL query:

DELETE FROM wp_comments WHERE wp_comments.comment_approved = 'spam';

This line tells the database to look at all the data it contains related to user comments. It will find every comment you’ve marked as spam and delete them. Many database-related queries run automatically.

However, you can also access your database directly and run these types of commands by hand, or use a database manager to simplify the process. This lets you accomplish certain tasks more quickly than conducting them through the dashboard, and can enable you to do things you otherwise can’t (such as changing your account’s username).

In a bit, we’ll talk about how to find and access your WordPress database. However, let’s first look more closely at what kinds of tables the database includes.

How Your WordPress Database Organizes Information