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Keeping a local copy of your website backup is one of the smartest things you can do. If anything goes wrong on the server, you've got a copy sitting safely on your own machine. Here's how to download a backup from Plesk to your computer. Before you start You need at least one existing backup in Plesk. If you haven't created one yet, go to Websites & Domains > Backup Manager > Back Up and create one first. Steps to download a backup 1. Log in to your Plesk control panel. 2. Go to Websites & Domains > Backup Manager. 3. You'll see a list of all available backups with their dates and sizes. Click on the backup you want to download. 4. Click the Download button. 5. Plesk will ask if you want to protect the backup with a password. We recommend setting a password — if the backup file ever falls into the wrong hands, your data stays protected. 6. If you don't want password protection, clear the "Use password protection" checkbox. 7. Click OK. 8. Your browser will start downloading the backup file to your default Downloads folder. Things to keep in mind - Large backups take time. If your site has several gigabytes of data, the download could take a while depending on your internet speed. Don't close the browser tab while the download is in progress. - Disk space on the server matters. Plesk creates a temporary archive during the download process. If your server is low on disk space, the download may fail. Free up space or contact support if this happens. - Store backups safely. Once downloaded, move the file to a secure location — an external hard drive, cloud storage, or another safe spot. Don't leave it sitting in your Downloads folder indefinitely. - You can re-upload later. If you ever need to restore from a downloaded backup, go to Backup Manager > Upload to send it back to the server and restore from there. How often should you download backups? That depends on how often your site changes. If you update content daily, download a backup at least once a week. For mostly static sites, once a month is usually enough. The key is having a recent local copy available when you need it — server backups alone aren't enough if the server itself becomes unavailable.

🗄️ Databases

How to View Database Size and Usage Statistics in Plesk

Keeping an eye on your database size helps you manage disk space and catch bloated tables before they cause performance issues. Plesk gives you several ways to check how much space your databases are using. Method 1: check from the Statistics page 1. Log in to your Plesk control panel. 2. Click Statistics in the left sidebar. 3. Look at the Disk space usage by services chart. It shows a breakdown of space used by website files, emails, databases, logs, and backups. 4. The Databases portion shows the total size of all your databases combined. This gives you a quick overview but doesn't show individual database sizes. Method 2: check from the Databases page 1. Go to Websites & Domains > Databases. 2. You'll see a list of all databases for your subscription. 3. Each database entry shows its type (MySQL/MariaDB), the related website, and basic info. 4. Note: Plesk may not display the exact size on this page for all configurations. For precise numbers, use phpMyAdmin (see below). Method 3: check detailed table sizes in phpMyAdmin 1. Go to Websites & Domains > Databases. 2. Click phpMyAdmin next to the database you want to inspect. 3. Click your database name in the left sidebar. 4. At the bottom of the table list, you'll see a size total for the database. 5. Each table row shows its own Size column — this helps you identify which tables are using the most space. 6. For more detail, click a table name and then the Operations tab to see data length, index length, and overhead. Understanding the numbers - Data length: the actual space used by your data. - Index length: space used by indexes (speeds up queries). - Overhead: wasted space from deleted rows. You can reclaim this by running Optimize table from the dropdown in phpMyAdmin. Important notes - Plesk calculates disk usage once per day during the daily maintenance task. The Statistics page may not reflect changes made in the last 24 hours. - For real-time size information, always use phpMyAdmin. - Database size counts toward your hosting plan's disk space quota. - Large tables with lots of overhead can be optimised to free up space — select the table in phpMyAdmin, choose Optimize table from the With selected dropdown. Troubleshooting - Statistics page shows 0 for databases? The daily maintenance task may not have run yet. Wait 24 hours or ask your hosting provider to trigger it manually. - Database seems too large? Check for log tables, session tables, or spam data that can be safely cleaned up. Many CMS platforms store revision history and transient data that grows over time. - Can't access phpMyAdmin? Make sure your database has at least one user account assigned. Go to User Management and create one if needed.

📁 File Management

How to Password-Protect a Directory in Plesk

Password-protected directories restrict access to specific folders on your website. Visitors must enter a username and password before they can view anything inside the protected folder. This is useful for client portals, staging areas, or private downloads. How to create a password-protected directory 1. Log in to Plesk. 2. Go to Websites & Domains and find your domain. 3. Click Password-Protected Directories. 4. Click Add Protected Directory. 5. In the Directory name field, type the path to the folder you want to protect (relative to your document root). For example: private to protect httpdocs/private. - To protect your entire website, enter /. 6. Optionally, enter a Title of the protected area — this is the message visitors see in the login prompt. 7. Click OK. Note: On Plesk for Linux, the directory will be created automatically if it doesn’t exist yet. How to add users to the protected directory A protected directory with no users means nobody can access it. You need to add at least one user: 1. In the Password-Protected Directories list, click the name of the directory you just protected. 2. Click Add a User. 3. Enter a Username and Password. 4. Click OK. You can add multiple users if different people need access. Each user gets their own login credentials. How to test it Open your browser and navigate to the protected URL (e.g. https://yourdomain.com/private/). You should see a login prompt asking for a username and password. How to remove password protection 1. Go to Websites & Domains > Password-Protected Directories. 2. Tick the checkbox next to the directory. 3. Click Remove Protection. 4. Confirm the removal. The directory and its files will remain on the server — only the password protection is removed. Important notes - Protecting a parent directory automatically protects all subdirectories beneath it. - Don’t include httpdocs in the directory name — just enter the folder name relative to the document root. - Password protection uses HTTP Basic Authentication (.htpasswd). It’s secure over HTTPS but credentials are sent in plain text over HTTP. Always use SSL on your domain. Troubleshooting - Login prompt doesn’t appear: Clear your browser cache and try in an incognito window. If Apache restart intervals are configured on your server, protection may not take effect until the next restart. - “401 Unauthorized” even with correct credentials: Remove the user and re-add them with a new password. Ensure there are no special characters in the password that may cause issues. - Want to change a user’s password? Click the directory name, then click the username, and set a new password.

🗄️ Databases

How to Allow Remote Database Connections in Plesk

By default, databases in Plesk only accept connections from the server itself (localhost). If you need to connect from an external application, a local development tool like MySQL Workbench, or another server, you'll need to enable remote access. Step 1: enable remote access for the database user 1. Log in to your Plesk control panel. 2. Go to Websites & Domains > Databases. 3. Click the User Management tab. 4. Click the name of the database user you want to grant remote access to. 5. Under Access control, choose one of these options: - Allow local connections only — default, no remote access - Allow remote connections from any host — lets anyone connect (use with caution) - Allow remote connections from — restricts access to specific IP addresses or hostnames (recommended) 6. Click OK to save. Step 2: connect from your remote application Use these connection details in your external application or tool: - Host: your domain name or server IP address - Port: 3306 (default MySQL/MariaDB port) - Username: the database user you configured above - Password: the database user's password - Database: the name of your database Important notes - Security first: avoid "Allow remote connections from any host" whenever possible. Specify the exact IP address of the server or computer that needs access. - Firewall: port 3306 must be open on your server's firewall. If connections time out, ask your hosting provider to check the firewall rules. - Encrypted connections: remote MySQL connections are unencrypted by default. For sensitive data, configure SSL for your database connections. - This setting is per-user — each database user has their own access control settings. - If you no longer need remote access, switch back to Allow local connections only to reduce your attack surface. Testing the connection From your local computer (if you have MySQL client installed), run: mysql -u your_db_user -p -h yourdomain.com Or use a GUI tool like MySQL Workbench, DBeaver, or HeidiSQL — enter the connection details above and click Test Connection. Troubleshooting - Connection refused? The server firewall is likely blocking port 3306. Contact your hosting provider to open it. - Access denied? Make sure the remote access setting is correct for that specific user, and double-check the password. - Connection times out? This usually means port 3306 is blocked. Try a different network to rule out your local firewall. - Access control option not showing? Your hosting plan may not include the Remote access for database users permission. Contact your hosting provider.

📁 File Management

How to Copy or Move Files Between Directories in Plesk

Plesk File Manager makes it easy to copy or move files and folders between directories without needing FTP or SSH access. Here’s how to do it. How to copy files to another directory 1. Log in to Plesk. 2. Go to Websites & Domains and click File Manager for your domain. 3. Navigate to the folder containing the files you want to copy. 4. Tick the checkboxes next to the files and/or folders. 5. Click the Copy button in the toolbar. 6. In the dialog that appears, browse to or type the destination directory path. 7. If you want to overwrite files with the same names, tick Replace existing files. 8. Click OK. The original files remain in place, and copies are created in the destination folder. How to move files to another directory 1. In File Manager, navigate to the folder containing the files. 2. Tick the checkboxes next to the files and/or folders you want to move. 3. Click the Move button in the toolbar. 4. Browse to or type the destination directory path. 5. If you want to overwrite files with the same names, tick Replace existing files. 6. Click OK. The files are removed from the original location and placed in the destination folder. The difference between Copy and Move - Copy — creates a duplicate. The original file stays where it is. - Move — relocates the file. The original is removed from the source directory. Important notes - You can select multiple files and folders at once before clicking Copy or Move. - The destination path is relative to your hosting root. For example, to move a file into your website’s root, the path would typically be /httpdocs/. - Moving core website files (like .htaccess or web.config) can break your site. Be careful what you move. - If you don’t see the Copy or Move buttons, make sure at least one file is selected (checkbox ticked). Troubleshooting - Files aren’t appearing in the destination: Refresh File Manager and double-check the destination path. A typo in the path means the files may end up in an unexpected location. - “Permission denied” error: You may be trying to copy/move files outside your allowed directory. Contact your hosting provider if you need access to other areas. - Only one file moved when multiple were selected: This is a known issue in older Plesk versions. Update to the latest version, or move files one at a time as a workaround.

📁 File Management

How to Compress and Extract Files in Plesk File Manager

Plesk File Manager lets you compress files into archives and extract uploaded archives directly on the server. This is much faster than downloading, zipping locally, and re-uploading. How to compress files 1. Log in to Plesk. 2. Go to Websites & Domains and click File Manager for your domain. 3. Navigate to the folder containing the files you want to compress. 4. Tick the checkboxes next to the files and/or folders you want to include. 5. Click the Archive button in the toolbar. 6. Choose the archive format — ZIP is recommended for maximum compatibility. 7. Enter a name for the archive file. 8. Click OK. The archive will be created in the current directory. You can then download it or move it elsewhere. How to extract files from an archive 1. In File Manager, navigate to the folder containing the archive. 2. Tick the checkbox next to the archive file. 3. Click Extract Files in the toolbar. 4. If there are files with the same names in the directory, tick Replace existing files to overwrite them. 5. Click OK. The contents of the archive will be extracted into the current directory. Supported archive formats - Creating archives: ZIP, TAR, TAR.GZ - Extracting archives: ZIP, RAR, TAR, TGZ, TAR.GZ Tips - Uploading a website? Compress the files on your computer first, upload the single archive via File Manager, then extract it on the server. This is significantly faster than uploading hundreds of individual files. - Making a quick backup? Select all files in httpdocs, compress to ZIP, and download the archive. - Large archives may take a moment to extract — don’t navigate away until the process completes. Troubleshooting - Extract Files button is greyed out: Make sure you’ve selected (ticked) the archive file, not just clicked on it. - Extraction fails: The archive may be corrupted. Try re-uploading it. If it’s a RAR file, ensure it wasn’t created with RAR5 format, which older server versions may not support. - Files missing after extraction: Check if they were extracted into a subfolder inside the archive.

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How to Download a Backup to Your Local Computer in Plesk

How to View Database Size and Usage Statistics in Plesk

How to Password-Protect a Directory in Plesk

How to Allow Remote Database Connections in Plesk

How to Copy or Move Files Between Directories in Plesk

How to Compress and Extract Files in Plesk File Manager