How to Check Disk and Bandwidth Usage in cPanel

If you’re managing a website through cPanel, it’s crucial to monitor your disk space and bandwidth usage. This not only helps you maintain optimal performance but also prevents unexpected downtimes and ensures that your site remains accessible to visitors. This tutorial will guide you through checking your disk and bandwidth usage in cPanel, with additional best practices for WordPress, cPanel management, and SEO considerations.

Step 1: Log in to cPanel

1. **Access Your cPanel**: Open your web browser and enter your cPanel URL, usually formatted as `https://yourdomain.com/cpanel` or `https://yourserverip/cpanel`.

2. **Enter Credentials**: Input your username and password. If you don’t have these details, consult your hosting provider.

Step 2: Locate Disk Usage

1. **Find the Disk Usage Tool**: Once logged in, scroll down to the **‘Files’** section. Look for the **‘Disk Usage’** icon and click on it.

2. **Understanding Disk Usage**: This tool will display a breakdown of your disk space usage, showing how much space each directory and file type occupies. It typically categorises your usage into different folders like `public_html`, email accounts, and other directories.

3. **Navigating the Data**:
– **Overview**: You will see an overview of total disk space allocated, used, and available.
– **Directory Breakdown**: Click on any directory for a detailed view. This helps identify large files or folders that may require cleanup.

Step 3: Locate Bandwidth Usage

1. **Find the Bandwidth Tool**: In the cPanel main dashboard, locate the **‘Metrics’** section and click on **‘Bandwidth’**.

2. **Review Bandwidth Data**: This page will provide a graphical representation of your bandwidth usage over a specified time frame (daily, weekly, or monthly).

3. **Details to Note**:
– **Total Bandwidth Usage**: This shows the total amount of data transferred to and from your website.
– **Breakdown by File Types**: Here you can see which files or scripts are consuming the most bandwidth, which is useful for identifying potential issues.

Step 4: Best Practices for Disk and Bandwidth Management

Disk Usage Best Practices

– **Regular Cleanup**: Schedule regular reviews of your disk usage. Delete unnecessary files, old backups, or unused themes and plugins in WordPress.
– **Optimise Images**: Use image compression plugins like **Smush** or **Imagify** to reduce image file sizes without losing quality.
– **Use Caching**: Implement caching solutions such as **WP Super Cache** or **W3 Total Cache** to serve cached versions of your site, reducing disk space and bandwidth usage.

Bandwidth Usage Best Practices

– **Content Delivery Network (CDN)**: Consider using a CDN like **Cloudflare** or **Amazon CloudFront** to offload bandwidth and improve loading speeds.
– **Minimise HTTP Requests**: Reduce the number of elements on your pages (scripts, stylesheets) to limit HTTP requests. Combine CSS and JavaScript files where possible.
– **Monitor Traffic**: Keep an eye on sudden spikes in traffic which could indicate a need for additional resources or potential attacks (like DDoS).

Step 5: SEO Considerations

1. **Optimise Load Times**: Faster websites rank better on search engines. Use the data from your bandwidth and disk usage analysis to optimise your site’s performance.

2. **Clean URLs**: Ensure that your URLs are concise and descriptive. This helps with SEO and reduces unnecessary bandwidth usage from poorly structured URLs.

3. **Quality Content**: Regularly update your website with high-quality content to improve SEO while managing disk space effectively. Use a blogging strategy to keep content fresh.

Conclusion

Monitoring your disk and bandwidth usage through cPanel is a straightforward yet essential task for maintaining a healthy website. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your site runs smoothly and efficiently. Regular checks and optimisations will not only enhance performance but also contribute positively to your SEO efforts.