WordPress bulk actions let you move a reviewed selection of posts to Trash in one operation. Use filters and a small initial selection to avoid removing content that only looks similar to the material you intended to retire.
IN THIS ARTICLE
01 Define the selection
Decide which posts qualify by category, author, date or another clear criterion. If you are cleaning an imported library, keep a record of the titles or IDs being removed. Back up the database before a large cleanup, and identify published URLs that need replacement links or redirects.
02 Apply the bulk action
- Open Posts > All Posts. Apply suitable filters or search terms and check the results.
- Select individual checkboxes, or use the header checkbox only after reviewing the displayed page. The header checkbox normally selects the current page of results, not every post in the website.
- Choose Move to Trash from Bulk actions and select Apply.
- Review the result count and check the Trash view. Repeat deliberately for later result pages if the planned selection spans several pages.
03 Verify what remains online
Check that important articles are still published and that category archives, menus and homepage sections do not link to removed content. Clear affected page caches after the selection is confirmed. Avoid increasing the displayed item count to an extreme value on a large site, which can create a slow or failed administration request.
What if I selected the wrong posts for bulk removal?
Use the Trash view to select the mistakenly removed items and apply Restore. Then review publication status and public URLs. Do not select Empty Trash until you are sure every item there is disposable, including items removed by other editors.
If a bulk operation times out, reload the post list and determine which items changed before repeating it. An error page does not prove that nothing was processed. Permanent deletion and a later full-database restore can affect more than the selected posts, so escalate when the desired recovery scope is unclear.