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How to bulk delete all WordPress posts/custom post type (2 Easy Solutions)

How to bulk delete all wordpress posts/custom posts and pages
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Managing posts is one of the most important tasks for WordPress site administrators. By default, WordPress sites have options for bulk editing of posts, and site administrators can use these options to bulk delete posts. But the options available in WordPress to bulk delete post/custom post types or filter them before deleting are not flexible enough, and administrators have to spend a lot of time deleting the posts.

To solve this problem, various plugins have been introduced that make the work of blog administrators easier and faster. One of the best WordPress plugins is WordPress post bulk edit, which provides excellent options for bulk editing posts, pages, and custom posts.

In this article, we will first review the method of bulk deletion of posts in WordPress default. Then we will introduce you to the features of this helpful plugin so that you can see how to bulk editing of posts and pages can be done using it with higher efficiency.

Solution 1: Delete all WordPress posts without the plugin

If you want to delete all the WordPress posts, using the default WordPress options can help you. To use the available option in WordPress to delete a group of posts, you must first enter the posts > all posts through the WordPress dashboard.

Then, on the opened page, follow the steps below:

Increase the number of posts displayed in the table

As shown in the image below, when you enter the All posts section, the posts will be displayed as a table view.

WordPress Post list

To begin with, you need to display all the posts on one screen to select and delete them with one click. To increase the number of posts displayed in the table, click on Screen options and increase the number of items in the number of items per page section.

Also, ensure that the View mode option is set to List view mode.

After entering the desired number (e.g., 999), click the Apply button.

Set the number of items per page in WordPress

This way, all the posts will be displayed on one page, and you can delete them all at once by following the next steps.

But if you want to delete individual posts, you can use a few limited options provided by WordPress to filter posts, which we will explain further.

Filter posts

As we said, in the All posts section, you can see the posts on WordPress in a table view. At the top of the table, some options for filtering posts are provided to you.

Filter by publishing status

If you want to filter the posts based on their publish status, you can click on any of the following options displayed at the top of the table:

  • ALL: Display all posts.
  • Published: Only published posts will be displayed.
  • Sticky: Only Sticky posts will be displayed.
  • Drafts: Only posts that are in draft mode will be displayed.
  • Trash: Only posts that have been moved to the trash can be displayed.

Mark posts

After displaying the posts, you should mark the posts you want to delete. At the top of the table, next to the Title, there is a box. All the posts displayed on the same page will be selected if you click on it.

Next to each post is a box to select it, and you can mark as many posts as you want to bulk delete in the next step.

Before bulk delete posts mark the posts you want to delete

Bulk delete posts

After marking the posts, click on the bulk Actions combo box at the top of the table and then select the Move to trash option.

Finally, by clicking Apply, you can bulk delete all selected posts and move them to the trash.

Bulk delete WordPress posts by select Move to trash in bulk action

These posts will no longer be displayed on the site, but if you need them, you can enter the Trash section and restore deleted posts.

Bulk delete posts from the trash

If you want to delete trashed posts permanently, you can follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Trash option at the top of the table
  2. Mark all posts or some posts you want to bulk delete.

Go to Trash section for bulk delete trashed posts
  1. Click on the bulk actions option from the top of the table and then select the Delete permanently option
Delete WordPress posts permanently

Please note that by choosing this option, the posts you marked will be deleted forever, and restoring or reusing them will not be possible.

Solution 2: Bulk delete WordPress posts by the plugin

The easiest and fastest way to bulk delete WordPress posts and pages is to use the WordPress Post / Page Bulk Edit plugin.

This plugin allows the administrator to bulk edit all the features of the posts, which is available in three ways: Bulk Edit form, Bind Edit and inline edit.

One of the essential features of this plugin is the design of a filter form with a straightforward user interface through which you can filter posts based on your needs and then do bulk editing on them.

WordPress post bulk edit

In the following, we will review how to filter and bulk delete posts, custom posts and pages in this plugin.

Filter posts

Before they proceed to bulk delete their desired posts or pages, the WordPress administrators should be able to filter them according to their needs.

In the WordPress posts bulk edit plugin, there are two ways to filter posts, which we explain below:

As you can see in the image below, entering the WP Posts page through the WordPress dashboard will display the list of all the WordPress posts in a table. At the top of the table, there are several boxes. The quick search box is one of them. You can find your desired posts in the table by entering a letter or word in the post’s title and then clicking on the filter button.

At the top of the table, there are several boxes that provide you with the following features:

  • Increasing the number of posts displayed on one page, which can be increased up to 1000 posts.
Increasing the number of posts displayed on one page
  • Quick search box through which you can display your desired posts in the table by entering a letter or word that is available in the Title of the post and then clicking on the filter symbol.
Quick search box in WordPress post bulk edit plugin

Filter Form

Filter form is one of the unique features of the WordPress posts bulk edit plugin, through which you can filter posts based on any feature assigned to them.

In the filter form, the features of the posts are categorized into General, Date & Type, and Custom Fields tabs. You can enter these tabs based on your needs, filter your desired post quickly, and then delete them in bulk.

Filter posts before bulk delete in WordPress post bulk edit plugin

Bulk delete posts

If you want to bulk delete all the posts on your website, it is better to increase the number of posts displayed on each table page. You must set it to 1000 from the combo box above the table.

Then mark all the posts by clicking on the box next to the ID.

At the top of the page, the Delete option will be displayed to you, and if you click on it, you will see the following two options:

  • Move to trash: By selecting this option, the posts you marked will be moved to the trash, and you can restore them.
  • Permanently: By selecting this option, the selected posts will be deleted forever, and restoring them is impossible.
Select posts and then select move to trash or permanently

Bulk Remove WordPress custom post type

Another excellent feature included in this plugin that makes the work of website administrators very easy is the ability to select custom posts. As shown in the image below, the list of all custom posts will be displayed if you select the combo box in front of the Select post type option.

For example, if you click on the FAQ option, all related posts will be displayed in the table, and you can bulk delete them by following the next steps.

Select custom post type in WordPress post bulk edit plugin

Bulk Delete WordPress Pages

You can also use the WordPress posts bulk edit plugin to bulk delete pages.

To do this, click on the Pages option from the Select post type combo box. All WordPress pages will be displayed in the table.

First, mark the pages you want to delete in the table and select one of the two items; move to trash or Permanently from the Delete option.

Select Page in WordPress post bulk edit plugin

Restore or Bulk Remove posts from trash

If you have selected the Move to trash option for bulk deletion of posts, all the posts will be moved to the trash, and you can see them by clicking on the Trash option at the top of the table.

If you click on the Empty trash option at the top of the page, all the posts in the trash will be deleted forever.

Empty trashed posts in WordPress post bulk edit plugin

But if you want to delete some posts in bulk, you can mark the posts you want and then click on Empty trash.

Also, if you want to restore some posts, you can click on the Restore option after marking them. In this way, the posts will be displayed again on the site.

Restore trashed posts WordPress post bulk edit plugin
WordPress post bulk edit

Conclusion

Bulk deleting WordPress posts and pages without using a plugin is possible through the default WordPress dashboard. Still, its capabilities are minimal and require a lot of time from blog administrators who need to edit or delete a group of hundreds of posts at the same time.

The best solution to this problem is the WordPress Post / Page Bulk Edit plugin. This plugin comes with a very simple and practical user interface, gives the site administrator the possibility to filter posts, custom posts and pages, and provides the possibility to bulk delete them with just one click.

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