Where your website files go: public_html, folders and which domain uses which

The short answer: what people see when they open your domain is in a folder called public_html. Anything you put inside can be seen on the internet; what is outside cannot. Each extra domain or subdomain has its own folder, and almost every “my site does not show what I uploaded” comes from files put in the wrong folder.

The account map

Folder What it is for
public_html The main domain’s folder. It is the one that opens when you type the domain. The entry file (index.html or index.php) lives here.
public_html/otherdomain.com Usually the folder of an addon domain. Each one shows the contents of its own folder.
public_html/shop A subdomain (shop.your-domain.com) or a page folder (your-domain.com/shop). See Subdomain or folder.
Outside public_html (the home folder) What is not seen from the internet: e-mail, logs, backups, private files. Keep here what must not be public.

How to see and fix it

1 In cPanel, open “Domains”. Each domain and subdomain appears with its document root: the folder it shows.
2 Open File Manager and confirm your files are in that folder, not in a folder inside it. A common mistake is the site ending up in public_html/mysite/ when it should be in public_html/.
3 Confirm the entry file: there must be an index.html or index.php. Without it, a list of files appears: What a visitor sees when there is no home page.
4 To upload files, choose the method: File Manager, FTP, SFTP or Git.
Do not put private data inside public_html. Backups, files with passwords, database exports: whatever is there can be downloaded by anyone who knows the address. Keep them outside, in the home folder.
Want to know whether the site’s files are really on the hosting, before switching the domain? See How to check if the site files are on the hosting and Seeing the site before the domain points here.

The files are in the right folder and the site does not show what you expect? Open a ticket with the domain.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

How to check if the site files are on the hosting

Seeing the site before the domain points here, and the Index of / listing

File Manager, FTP, SFTP or Git: which way to upload your site

What can you do in cPanel?

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