--- title: "Taking a Manual Backup in Plesk" source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/hosting/control-panel/plesk/backup-and-restore/taking-a-manual-backup-in-plesk/" description: "To make sure you can restore your website if something goes wrong, you should have periodic backups scheduled. Sometimes you'll want to manually back up a websi…" vertical: "Hosting" date: "2024-03-04" last_modified: "2026-07-02" --- # Taking a Manual Backup in Plesk To make sure you can restore your website if something goes wrong, you should have periodic backups scheduled. If you aren’t already automatically backing up your websites, read our article about why and how to set up backups in [Configuring Backups in Plesk](https://docs.nexcess.com/hosting/control-panel/plesk/backup-and-restore/configuring-backups-in-plesk/). Sometimes you’ll want to manually back up a website in addition to your automatic backups. For instance, if you’re going to make large changes to the website, it’s a good idea to back up your website just in case something goes wrong. That way, you can restore an old version of your website while your developer figures out the problem. It’s also a good idea to create a backup if you’re going to make major changes to your server. We recommend downloading a backup right before you make major changes to your website. This ensures your backup has the most up-to-date website information. It’s easy to back up a website or even your whole [server using Plesk](https://www.liquidweb.com/vps-hosting/plesk/)! - [Backing Up a Domain](#DomainBackup) - [Backing Up Your Entire Server](#ServerBackup) ## Backing Up a Domain 1. Log into Plesk. If you haven’t logged into Plesk before, read [Getting Started with Plesk](https://docs.nexcess.com/hosting/control-panel/plesk/getting-started-with-plesk/) first. 2. In Power User view, click on **Websites & Domains** in the left navigation menu. In Service Provider view, click on **Subscriptions** in the left navigation menu. Then click on the domain you’d like to back up. 3. Click on **Backup Manager**. If you have more than one domain, choose the domain you’d like to back up and click **OK**. ![Backup manager](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_rUIHGS.gif) 4. Click on **Back Up**. ![backing up your website](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_zbznm6.gif) 5. Now, choose your backup settings. - A manual backup will automatically back up the domain configuration, your mail configuration and email content, and all the user files and databases. Uncheck the boxes next to anything you don’t want to back up. ![backup content configuration](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_5F79M6.png) - Choose a **Full** or **Incremental** backup. ![full or incremental backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_Sj1TJr.gif) - You can add a backup **Comment** if necessary. If you have a lot of backups, it is a good idea to add a comment with what you backed up and why. - If you’d like to get a notification email when your backup is finished, check the box for **When a backup task is completed, send a notification email to** and enter your email address. - You can choose to **Suspend the domain until the backup task is completed**, which takes your website offline until the backup is completed. This results in a very clean backup, but if your site has a lot of traffic, it might not be ideal for your needs. Check the box if you’d like to suspend your domain. - Plesk automatically uses native MS SQL backup functions. If you are an advanced user and have special database settings, you might uncheck this box. For most users, it makes sense to leave this box checked. 6. Click **OK** to begin backing up your files. ![beginning to back up your files](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_mBWBxv.gif) 7. If you need to download your backup to your local computer, simply click the green down arrow next to the backup. ![downloading a backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_lKZVeL.png) ## Backing Up Your Server 1. Log into Plesk. If you’ve never logged into Plesk before, read [Getting Started with Plesk](https://docs.nexcess.com/hosting/control-panel/plesk/getting-started-with-plesk/) first. 2. Click on **Tools & Settings** in the left navigation menu. Then, in the **Tools & Resources** section, click on **Backup Manager**. ![tools and settings menu](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_1ZbsoS.gif) 3. Backup Manager will list any backups you have saved. Click on **Back Up**. ![backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_UzD3mJ.png) 4. A manual backup will automatically back up your server configuration and content. If you don’t want to back up your content, select the radio button next to **Server configuration**. ![choosing the backup content](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_vywOq2.gif) 5. Choose a **Full** or **Incremental** backup. ![choosing a full or incremental backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_0xhOjL.gif) 6. You can add a backup **Comment** if necessary. If you have a lot of backups, it is a good idea to add a comment with what you backed up and why. 7. If you’d like to get a notification email when your backup is finished, check the box for **When a backup task is completed, send a notification email to** and enter your email address. 8. You can choose to **Suspend the domain until the backup task is completed**, which takes your website offline until the backup is completed. This results in a very clean backup, but if your site has a lot of traffic, it might not be ideal for your needs. Check the box if you’d like to suspend your domain. 9. Plesk automatically uses native MS SQL backup functions. If you are an advanced user and have special database settings, you might uncheck this box. For most users, it makes sense to leave this box checked. 10. Click **OK** to begin backing up your files. ![beginning your backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_f2cVRl.gif) 11. If you need to download your backup to your local computer, simply click the green down arrow next to the backup. ![downloading a backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/help.liquidweb.com_iZAzvQ.png) To Restore data from a Plesk Backup, see [Restoring Data from Plesk Backups](https://docs.nexcess.com/hosting/control-panel/plesk/backup-and-restore/restoring-data-from-plesk-backups/).