> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.stablepoint.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing Disk Usage

You can see a total of your disk space usage in the cPanel statistics panel, but to see more detail you can click the `Disk Usage` icon.

### Usage by category

The `Disk Usage` section first breaks down usage into different categories to help you manage your space effectively. Below this, you can drill down into specific folders within the webspace, with each folder's space usage summarised.

### What causes usage to rise?

There are four common culprits of unexpectedly high disk usage:

* **Software website backups.** These are backups taken by your software (e.g. WordPress), usually configured in a plugin. We take regular backups of your entire cPanel account so there is no need to take these. If you do want your own backups, we recommend storing them elsewhere.
* **Website error logs.** These are usually in files named `error_log`, created due to a PHP error on a website with logging enabled. The log includes details of the reason for the error (which you might want to fix), or you can disable logging in the PHP options in "PHP Selector".
* **Cache files.** Software can create cache files which in theory should be removed but sometimes are not. These can take up large amounts of space unnecessarily. Cache should be cleared regularly.
* **Emails.** Emails are included in account usage. If you keep all your messages on the server, have a catch-all address, or receive a large amount of spam, this may be filling up space. Bear in mind emails in your "Trash" folder also use up space, so empty the Trash if you have a lot of them.

Once you have identified the cause of high disk usage, you can use the cPanel File Manager or FTP to clear the source — or, in the case of emails, within Webmail or a mail client.