Last
Updated: 01/14/2026
( 19 minutes reading )
Nowadays, nearly every website available on the internet uses some sort of structured storage system, which is referred to as a database. The main use of this structured storage system is to hold and retrieve information dynamically once queried by the website. This open-source relational database management system is meant for managing SQL-type databases. It is supported and installed by default on nearly all web hosting servers, and every client can use it freely with Plesk.
In the following lines of this tutorial, we will review the complete process of managing your SQL databases using the Plesk control panel, which our customers can deploy for their VPS plans. Let’s start!
First, ensure you are logged in to your Plesk control panel. To do that, please enter your IP address, hostname, or domain name inside your web browser’s search bar and add “:8443” at the end. It should look something like: “https://yourdomain.com:8443”. By doing that, you will be prompted by a login form requesting your username and password.
After performing the steps above, you will be redirected to the dashboard. Plesk will automatically display the “Websites & Domains” page, which will be your index page from which you can manage everything related to your websites and domains on Plesk. From here, you can perform basic actions with your website’s database, which we have gone through in this tutorial.
However, in this tutorial, we will go over the rest of the actions you can perform with your databases in Plesk. You can perform this from the “Databases” functionality. To access it, please point your attention to the left-hand sidebar. There you will see the “Databases” feature. Please click on it.
Performing this action will redirect you to the central hub for managing all databases associated with your Plesk web hosting account.
Note that in the table section in the middle, you will see the database of all websites on the server. You can look under the “Related to” column to find the one you are looking for.
Now that we know how to find all the database management tools, let’s review the actions you can perform with these databases!
Now that you have accessed the Databases functionality, let’s start by adding a new database. To perform this action, please click on the blue “+ Add Database” button located at the top left side of the screen.
Accomplishing the action above will open a side menu from the left side, with the necessary configurations required to create the new database. Let’s go over them.
Once you have filled out all the required fields, please click the blue “Create Database” button at the bottom left side of the pop-up screen to create the database.
Once you perform the action above, the page will refresh, and you will see the newly created database populated within the table section of the “Databases” functionality.
Now that we have learned how to create new databases, let’s go over the actions you can perform with them.
In order to display all the database management options, please click on the down-pointing arrow at the far left side of the row, corresponding to the database you want to manage. Performing this will expand the actions. In addition to that, Pleks will also display the database host, the user assigned to the database, the number of tables held by the database, and its size. You will find this information at the bottom, right beneath all the available database actions.
phpMyAdmin is a free, open-source, web-based tool written in PHP that allows users to manage MySQL and MariaDB databases through a convenient visual interface. It enables users to perform tasks such as creating databases, running SQL queries, managing users, and importing/exporting data without using the command line.
It's widely used for database administration in web development environments or web hosting control panels.
To access phpMyAdmin, please click on the “phpMyAdmin” icon located directly underneath the database name. Performing this will redirect you to the phpMyAdmin dashboard. We will not go into detail on how to use this database management tool, as it is quite sophisticated and should be reviewed separately in a different tutorial.
Another way you can access “phpMyAdmin” is by clicking on the small “phpMyAdmin” icon located on the far right side of the database row, right next to the trashcan icon.
The connection info feature will provide details allowing you to connect your application to the SQL server running on Plesk.
Please click on the “Connection info” icon, located on the right side of the “phpMyAdmin” icon, to expand a side menu on the left side of the screen, containing all the information you need in order to link your application.
Copying your database could be handy when you are cloning your website or creating a backup. Pleks provides a simple tool for performing exactly that.
To use it, please click on the “Copy database” icon located on the right side of the “Connection Info” icon to expand a side menu that requires the following information to proceed.
Exporting a database is a useful option when you would like to create a backup and store it in an SQL format, either on the server or locally. Pleks provides a convenient method of achieving that.
To access the database exportation tool, please click on the “Export dump” icon located under the “phpMyAdmin” icon. Performing this action will expand a side menu with a few required options before Plesk can create the database dump.
You will have the option to select the directory where you want to export the database and assign a name by typing it into the “Dump filename” text field. You will also notice a checkbox that will automatically trigger a local download process whenever the export is done. Please leave it unchecked if you do not wish to download it locally.
Importing a database is quite a useful action that can allow you to import SQL files directly from your local machine or from SQL files that are already uploaded to your Plesk control panel.
To access this tool, please click on the “Import dump” icon, located on the right side of the “Export dump” icon.
Performing this action will expand a side menu where Pleks will require a few inputs from your end so it can import a database dump. You may choose either an SQL file you have on your local device or an SQL file that you uploaded to the Plesk control panel. Please tick the checkbox if you wish to completely re-create the database before importing the SQL file. Lastly, click on the blue “Import Dump” button at the bottom left side of the screen whenever you have selected the SQL file you want to upload.
The check and repair option is handy when you want to check for crashed database tables or if you believe there might be an issue with the database. To trigger this action, please click on the “Check and repair” icon, located on the right side of the “Import dump” icon.
Performing this action will trigger a brief loading screen (depending on the database’s size), and at the end, you will receive a notification at the bottom right corner of your screen with the result.
Removing a database is a handy option when you want to completely remove a website from the server, including the database. Another option where you may use removing a database is for unused databases used for staging/development purposes, which have already fulfilled their goal.
To delete a database, please click on the trashcan icon located in the far right corner of the table section row, corresponding to the database you wish to remove. This will prompt a confirmation above. Please click on the red “Yes” button to finalize the removal process.
The last action we are going to review here is assigning the database to a different website. This can be performed by either clicking the “Assign this database to a website” link located in the middle of the database row you want to assign, or if the database is already assigned to a website, click on the pencil icon located on the right side of the website’s name.
Performing either of the above will generate a drop-down menu that you can use to select the new website.
To assign the database, please click on the “tick” icon, located on the right side of the drop-down menu, or if you wish to cancel the entire process, click on the “X” icon instead.
With Plesk’s user-friendly interface, managing databases is a smooth and intuitive process. Whether you need to create a new database, perform a manual import, or access your tables via phpMyAdmin, everything you need is just a few clicks away.
By following this guide, you can efficiently manage your website’s database and maintain optimal control over your web applications.
Nikola is an accomplished tech-savvy extraordinaire with over six years of experience in the web hosting field. He started as a customer care representative and quickly rose the ranks to become a support supervisor and, eventually - the head of the technical department in HostArmada. His deep understanding of the client's needs, combined with his technical knowledge, makes him the perfect man to create the ideal harmony between client satisfaction and professional problem-solving. You will often find him creating helpful tutorials, articles, and blog posts that help existing customers get around.
Learn more about Plesk in the other tutorials that we have:
