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WordPress post revisions

Every time you save a post or a page, WordPress keeps the previous version as a revision. You can compare versions and go back to an earlier one. On top of that, WordPress saves an autosave while you write, one per post and user, so little is lost if the browser crashes.

Why it matters

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Revisions are a safety net: a deleted paragraph or an accidental change can be undone. They aren’t a backup of the site, though; they cover the content of posts and pages, not images, settings or plugins.

Each revision is stored as a full copy of the content in the database. On a page that has been edited a hundred times, that’s a hundred copies. Visitors don’t notice, because revisions aren’t loaded on the pages they see, but the database and every backup grow with them.

What influences it

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WordPress: By default, WordPress keeps every revision, without limit. The most common cause of many revisions is pages that are edited often over a long time, such as a home page or a price list. Page builders make each revision larger, because they store a lot of layout information with the content. The constant WP_POST_REVISIONS in wp-config.php can limit the number per post or switch revisions off. With a limit, WordPress deletes the oldest revisions beyond it the next time the post is updated.

In Permo

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The Revisions card is in System info, tab Database, under Cleanup potential. It counts the revisions stored in the database, with the note Saved earlier versions. The number gives context; Permo doesn’t rate it and deletes nothing.

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Sources