Your site files belong in the web root folder shown in your control panel, usually named public_html or htdocs, and the file named index.html or index.php in that folder is what visitors see first. Upload the contents of your site folder, not the folder itself, or your home page will live at a deeper path and return a 404. You can upload through the file manager or over FTP; both write to the same place.

Option 1: Upload with the file manager

  1. Open the file manager in your control panel and enter the web root folder.
  2. If you have many files, zip the site folder on your computer, upload the single archive, then use Extract.
  3. Delete the archive after extraction so it is not publicly downloadable.
  4. Confirm that index.html or index.php sits directly in the web root, next to folders such as css and images.

Option 2: Upload over FTP

  1. Create an FTP account in the control panel and note the host, username, password, and port. Use explicit FTPS if your client offers it.
  2. Connect with a client such as FileZilla and open the remote web root folder.
  3. Select the files inside your local site folder and upload them into the web root.
  4. Wait for the queue to finish before testing; a half-uploaded site often shows a blank page or broken layout.

Set permissions correctly

Folders should be 755 and files 644. Permissions of 777 are usually refused on shared hosting, and a 600 file cannot be read by the web server. Most FTP clients and the file manager keep the right values by default, so change them only when you have a reason.

Why you get 403 or 404 after uploading

  • Files in the wrong folder: you uploaded mysite/index.html instead of its contents, so the root has no index file.
  • No index file: a folder without index.html or index.php either lists nothing or is blocked, depending on server settings.
  • Wrong index priority: if both index.html and index.php exist, the server may serve the older static file while your PHP app is ignored.
  • Case-sensitive names: Linux treats Logo.PNG and logo.png as different files, so links written on Windows can break.
  • Permissions: unreadable files return 403 even when the path is correct.
  • DNS not pointing here yet: if the domain still resolves to the old host, you are testing someone else's server.
  • A broken .htaccess: rules that reference missing files can produce 403 or 500 errors.

Replace a live site safely

  1. Download a copy of the current web root before you touch it, even if you think you will not need it.
  2. Upload the new version into a temporary folder such as new-site, outside the live paths.
  3. Test it through the temporary address if your setup allows it, or test after hours.
  4. Rename the old folders rather than deleting them immediately, then move the new files into place.
  5. Clear any cache and reload in a private window. Keep the backup until the new site has run correctly for a few days.

If you are still choosing where to host the files, compare the hosting plan details, and send upload errors to contact with the exact path and message.