Plesk Backup Manager: Back Up Sites, Mail and Databases on Schedule

What a Plesk Backup Manager backup includes

A Backup Manager copy is built around the subscription's configuration, and that part is always included. Before you run one, you choose what rides along with it:

• Always in — the domain and subscription configuration: hosting settings, databases structure, mail configuration.
• Tick to include — mail message content and database content. A site backup without its database restores an empty shop, so tick both.
• Never included — the backup settings themselves (schedule, retention, FTP credentials), so note them down separately.
• Type — a full copy contains everything selected; an incremental copy stores only what changed since the previous backup, and needs that full backup plus its chain to restore.

You reach Backup Manager under Websites & Domains > Backup Manager on a subscription, or under Tools & Settings for server-wide tasks. On WebJi® Plesk hosting plans Backup Manager is enabled by default, and the 3-2-1 backup rule explains how many copies are enough.

Creating a Full Website Backup (Steps)

1. Log in to Plesk and open Websites & Domains > Backup Manager.
2. Click Back Up.
3. Under content, keep Mail messages and Databases ticked; clear a box only when you specifically want that data left out.
4. Under Store in, leave the server storage selected unless remote storage is already configured.
5. Under Type, pick Full — the first backup is always full, and later ones can go incremental.
6. Optionally add a comment, exclude log files or specific paths, and tick the email-notification box.
7. Click OK and wait; when it finishes, the copy is listed in Backup Manager with its size and date.

You know it worked when the new entry appears at the top of the backup list with today's date — that entry is the file you will restore from. The Plesk tutorial for beginners covers the rest of the panel around it.

Scheduling Automatic Backups

In Backup Manager, open Schedule and tick Activate this backup task. Set the frequency and start time — off-peak hours such as early morning are the safe default for a busy store. Decide the type: scheduled jobs run full by default, or tick Use incremental backup and set how often a full copy is performed between them.

Under Keep backup files for, enter how many days old copies are kept before Plesk removes them automatically — leave it empty only if you delete old backups by hand. Tick the error-notification email so a silent failure cannot go unnoticed, then click OK. Each result is listed in Backup Manager with its type and size.

Sending Backups to Remote Storage (S3, SFTP, Google Drive)

Copies that live on the same disk as the site die with it, so point at least one copy off the server. Under Backup Manager > Remote Storage Settings you add an FTP storage by hostname and credentials, and Plesk's Google Drive and Amazon S3 extensions add those destinations the same way.

When a backup runs, select the remote storage under Store in; for storages with a file-size limit, tick Create a multivolume backup and set the volume size so the copy is split. For a copy you keep outside Plesk, set a backup password when you download it — the file stays unreadable if the external storage is ever compromised, and Plesk asks for that password again on upload and restore.

Restoring Files, Databases or the Whole Site

In Backup Manager, click the backup you want and press Restore. Plesk lets you select which objects come back — the whole subscription, one site, specific files, or a single database — so a wrong theme file can be rolled back without overwriting the mail or the orders database.

Two cautions: a restore overwrites the current version of whatever you selected, so restore one object first and check it before doing everything; and an incremental backup can only be restored with its full backup plus every incremental taken since, so never delete the head of the chain.

Backup Retention and Testing Best Practices

Three habits separate a backup plan from a backup folder:

• Retention — keep a rolling set (for example, last night, last week, last month) instead of only the most recent copy, so a mistake is not discovered after it has been overwritten.
• Off-server copy — one copy on remote storage or downloaded locally, per the 3-2-1 habit.
• Quarterly restore test — restore the newest backup into a scratch location, open the site, and confirm the pages and the database agree. An untested backup is a hope, not a plan.

If the schedule itself is the hard part, WebJi®'s server backup solutions handle the job for you.

Troubleshooting Failed Backups

When a job fails, Backup Manager shows a detailed error description on the failed task line — read that first, because the message names the cause. The usual three: disk space ran out, so trim old copies; the remote storage credentials are wrong or the host is unreachable, so re-test them in Remote Storage Settings; and an incremental job lost its full backup or chain, so start a fresh full backup to rebuild it.

Large mail stores are the slowest part of a backup — if jobs keep timing out on one, move mail content out of the schedule or ask support to review the job. On WebJi®, email support@webji.services and the 24/7 desk (Hindi and English, average first reply under 60 minutes) will check the task log with you.