I don’t know about other WordPress users, but I never seem to remember to optimize my tables often enough. I suppose I should do a clever cron job so I can forget it.
Anyway, I just did a bit of pruning on my database followed by an optimize.
Being distrustful of computers I ran the optimize three times, ‘just in case’, and I’m pleasantly delighted to see that the blog comes up faster than it used to.
It’s also quicker at moving through the various admin panels, which is handy if you’re entering a post.
I guess how often you need to do it depends on how much you post and how often, but it wouldn’t hurt to optimize at least once a month. For a busy blog once a week might be beneficial.
Now, where’s the icon for Outlook? I need to set myself a reminder for next week…