ZIP Files in cPanel: How to Correctly Extract Websites, Backups, and Archives

ZIP Files in cPanel: How to Correctly Extract Websites, Backups, and Archives

ZIP files are very practical in web hosting. Instead of uploading many individual files, you can transfer an entire project, a template, a website copy, or a backup as an archive and extract it directly in cPanel. This saves time and reduces errors when uploading many individual files.

At the same time, problems often arise when handling ZIP archives: files are extracted into the wrong folder, existing files are overwritten, the archive creates an additional subfolder, or a ZIP file remains unnecessarily in the web directory after extraction.

When are ZIP files useful?

• when uploading a complete static website,
• when transferring many images or downloads,
• when providing a CMS package,
• when creating a quick backup of a folder,
• when downloading many files as a single archive,
• when archiving old project files.

For very large files or regular professional transfers, FTP or SFTP may still be more suitable.

Uploading a ZIP file in cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open the File Manager.
3. Navigate to the desired destination folder, for example public_html.
4. Click on Upload.
5. Select the ZIP file from your computer.
6. Wait until the upload is completely finished.
7. Return to the File Manager.

Before uploading, check if there are already files with the same names in the destination folder. When extracting later, existing files might be overwritten.

Correctly extracting a ZIP file

1. Select the uploaded ZIP file in the File Manager.
2. Click on Extract.
3. Check the destination path carefully.
4. Start the extraction process.
5. Afterwards, verify where the files were placed.
6. Delete the ZIP file if it is no longer needed.

Common mistake: additional subfolder

Many ZIP files contain a main folder. If you extract an archive in public_html, the files might end up here, for example:

public_html/my-website/index.html

However, if your domain points to public_html, this start file will not be displayed automatically. In this case, the website files must either be moved directly to public_html, or the domain's document root must be adjusted accordingly.

Compressing folders as ZIP

You can also create ZIP files yourself in the File Manager. This is practical if you want to create a quick backup of a folder before a change or want to download several files collected together.

1. Select the desired files or folders.
2. Click on Compress.
3. Select ZIP as the archive format.
4. Enter a meaningful filename.
5. Start the compression.
6. Download the archive to your computer if needed.

If the ZIP archive contains sensitive data, it should not remain permanently in the publicly accessible web directory.

Removing ZIP files after use

ZIP files consume disk space and can pose a security risk if they remain in the web directory. Archives containing complete website copies, configuration files, or database exports are particularly problematic.

Recommended:

• Delete the ZIP file after successful extraction if it is no longer needed,
• download important backups locally,
• do not store database exports permanently in public_html,
• remove old archives regularly.

Typical errors and solutions

Best Practices

• Always extract ZIP files in the correct destination folder.
• Check before extracting whether existing files could be overwritten.
• Create a backup before making critical changes.
• After extracting, check if the start file is in the correct folder.
• Delete old archives after successful use.
• Do not store sensitive backups permanently in public_html.