"Index of /" shows instead of my website

If your domain shows a page called Index of / with a list of files and folders, the server can’t find a home page in that folder, so it lists what’s there instead.

Fix it

1. Check you have a home page file

The server looks for these files, in this order: index.php, index.html, index.htm.

In cPanel’s File Manager, open your website’s folder (public_html for your main domain) and check:

• The file is there. If you haven’t uploaded your website yet, the folder may be empty. See Publishing your website with FTP.
• The name is right. It must be lowercase index.html, not Index.html or home.html. Rename it if needed.
• It’s not in a subfolder. If the list shows a single folder, such as mysite/ or wordpress/, your files are one level too deep. See Moving a website from a subfolder to the main domain.

2. Your home page has a different name

If your home page must keep another name, such as home.html, tell the server to use it. Add this line to .htaccess in that folder:

DirectoryIndex home.html index.php index.html

See Changing the default directory index.

Hide file lists for security

File lists let anyone see and download files in folders without a home page, such as backups or uploads. To turn them off:

• In cPanel, open Indexes under Advanced, choose the folder, and select No Indexing. See Using the Index Manager in cPanel.
• Or add Options -Indexes to the .htaccess file in public_html.

Visitors then see a 403 Forbidden page instead of a list of files.