Every Beginner and Standard hosting plan has a disk limit. That quota covers website files, email stored on the account, databases, logs, and any backups you save inside cPanel. Checking it regularly shows what is growing before you run out of room.
Hourly backups we keep for the account sit outside this quota. Copies you create yourself (Backup, a WordPress backup plugin, a zip you left in public_html) do count.
This article is for shared hosting. Open cPanel from the portal. Do not guess a hostname.
See your total usage
- Sign in at the portal.
- Open the hosting service for the domain.
- Click Log in to cPanel.
- On the cPanel home page, check the Statistics sidebar for Disk Usage.
- The bar is used space versus the plan limit. Hover or tap it for the exact figures.
The same numbers appear under Resource Usage. For CPU, bandwidth, and account counts as well as disk, see Read your resource usage and metrics.
See which folders use the space
1. In the Files section, open Disk Usage.
2. Wait for the scan. cPanel lists directories from largest to smallest.
3. Typical top rows:
- public_html and other site document roots (pages, uploads, plugins, themes)
- mail (messages kept on the server)
- databases (MariaDB data for the account)
- logs, caches, and folders you created
4. Click a directory to open its children. Keep going until you can see which folder is actually large.
Use this screen to find the heavy directories. Use File Manager when you want to open or delete a specific file.
Find large files in File Manager
1. In Files, open File Manager. See Use the File Manager.
2. Open the folder Disk Usage pointed at.
3. Click the Size column header to sort largest first.
4. Common space hogs:
- WordPress media under wp-content/uploads/
- Backup plugin folders (for example wp-content/updraft/ or similar)
- .zip, .tar.gz, or .sql files left in the home directory or public_html
- Old logs under logs/
- Unused themes, plugins, or copies of the site you no longer need
Download anything you want to keep, then delete the copy on the account. Empty Trash in File Manager or the files still count.
Free up space
Once you know what is large:
- Email: in Email Accounts, check each mailbox quota. Open Webmail (Roundcube), delete old messages and attachments, then empty Trash and Junk.
- Local backups: download the archive to your computer, then delete it from the server. Our hourly backups stay in place. See Download and Restore a Backup.
- Unused databases: export a copy from phpMyAdmin if you need it, then remove test databases you no longer use under MySQL Databases.
- Media: replace huge originals with reasonably sized images. Keep a local copy of the originals if you still need them.
- Caches and logs: old error and access logs are safe to remove after you have finished troubleshooting.
Do not delete folders you do not recognise (especially etc, mail, or hidden files at the account root) unless you are sure. If you are unsure, open a support ticket and we will look with you.
Email is often the largest item
Mailboxes share the same disk as the website.
- Open Email Accounts.
- Note any address whose used space is high.
- Click Check Email and choose Roundcube.
- Delete or download old mail, then empty Trash.
Set a mailbox quota that fits the account so one inbox cannot fill the whole plan. See Create an email account.
If you are near or at the limit
A full disk can stop uploads, new mail, and some site writes. You do not have to guess why.
- Clear the items above first.
- If the site is growing and you need a higher limit, compare plans at /hosting/browse or open a support ticket and we will move the account.
- Do not leave the account sitting at 100%. New mail and plugin updates can fail until there is free space.
Check Disk Usage after a large upload, a migration, or whenever mail starts to bounce for no obvious reason.