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public_html folder

The public_html folder is the web root for your primary domain name.
This means that public_html is the folder where you put all website files which you want to appear when someone types your main domain (the one you provided when you signed up for hosting).
Or put another way, when someone types your domain name into their browser, whatever is in thepublic_html folder is what will be shown to them.

Examples

For example, if you have a file called index.html (or any of the other default filenames) in thepublic_html folder, it will display that page.
If you do no have a default file in the public_htmlfolder (such as index.html, default.html, etc.), then a list of files in thepublic_html folder will be shown.

Path in File Manager (or in FTP)*	Corresponding URL in a Web Browser
/public_html/	http://www.yourdomain.com/
/public_html/pagename.html	http://www.yourdomain.com/pagename.html
/public_html/folder/	http://www.yourdomain.com/folder/
/public_html/folder/page.html	http://www.yourdomain.com/folder/page.html

Replace yourdomain.com with the primary domain on your account (the one you originally signed up with, unless you changed it).

Addon Domains & Subdomains

You can also create Addon domains and Subdomains, and these will use a folder inside public_html.

Examples

You can create an Addon domain calledaddondomain.com and it will use a subfolder similar to /public_html/addondomain.com/ (unless you specified otherwise).
Or you could create a Subdomain calledgatorhost.yourdomain.com and it would use a subfolder similar to /public_html/gatorhost/(unless you specified otherwise).
If gatorhost.yourdomain.com is defined as a subdomain, and addondomain.com is defined as an addon domain, then the following examples apply:

Path in File Manager (or in FTP)*	Corresponding URL in a Web Browser
/public_html/gatorhost/	http://gatorhost.yourdomain.com/
/public_html/addondomain.com/	http://www.addondomain.com/

Replace yourdomain.com with the primary domain on your account (the one you originally signed up with, unless you changed it). Replace addondomain.com with the additional domain you added in the "addon domains" section of cPanel.

If you do not want additional domains to be subfolders of public_html, then reseller, VPS or dedicated hosting is a better solution, since you can put each domain in its own cPanel to keep it separate from other domains. Shared accounts only get one cPanel, which is why all addon domains are subfolders of the public_htmlfolder.

Permissions

The public_html folder should always have 0750 permissions.
All folders inside the public_html folder should have 0755 permissions.
All files inside the public_html folder should have 0755 or 0644 permissions.
Some websites and scripts may advise you to use 777 permissions, however, our servers are configured to use 755 for the same purpose instead, since it is more secure. Permissions of 777 on any file or folder will cause the file to be inaccessible. Use 755 instead of 777.

*The full path is actually /home/username/public_html/ (where username is your cPanel username) rather than /public_html/ but in most places you will see/public_html/ instead of the full path, since it assumes you know you are in your own home directory.

cPanel is a popular web hosting control panel that helps you manage your hosting account and assists you in creating web sites, managing e-mail addresses, & installing applications to a server.

cPanel is available on all HostGator Linux hosting plans, includingShared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS and Linux Dedicated Servers.

Article Comments

Sarah

Maybe a silly question but... How is this folder different than the www folder?

Posted: August 30, 2010

HostGator

They are the same folder.

Posted: August 30, 2010

Nathan

Is it possible to have the primary domain files inside a subdomain folder? It makes a real mess having the primary files mixed with the add-on domain folders.

Posted: October 11, 2010

HostGator

That is not something HostGator will setup on a shared server, but you can accomplish this by creating a new folder, moving the primary domain's content to inside said folder, and then creating a Redirect from primarydomain.com to primarydomain.com/newfolder.

Posted: October 15, 2010

HostGator

Thank you for your comments. Just a quick reminder that the comments on this page are not monitored by technical support staff, and that for support issues, it is best to contact us by live chat, phone or email so we can assist you right away.Although comments are not monitored by technical support staff, they are moderated and read by technical writers. Comments will need to be approved by a moderator before appearing.
Our technical writers do read the comments periodically for the purposes of updating the articles, and do appreciate your feedback, suggestions and corrections to the articles themselves, as well as any suggestions or tips for readers of this article. However, support questions posted here are not guaranteed to be replied to in a timely manner or at all. For support issues, it is best to contact our support staff instead by live chat, email or phone.

Posted: December 13, 2011 (Global Reply)

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