Understanding your hosting file structure

Files & Backups Updated Jan 18, 2026

Hosting Directory Structure

Understanding where files belong helps you manage your site effectively.

Main Directories

/home/username/

Your home directory. Contains all your hosting files.

/home/username/public_html/

Your main website folder. Files here are publicly accessible at yourdomain.com.

/home/username/public_html/subdomain/

Addon domain or subdomain folders.

/home/username/mail/

Email data. Do not modify directly.

/home/username/logs/

Access and error logs for your sites.

/home/username/ssl/

SSL certificate files.

/home/username/tmp/

Temporary files. Cleared periodically.

Important Files

.htaccess

Apache configuration. Controls redirects, security, caching.

wp-config.php

WordPress configuration. Contains database credentials.

index.php / index.html

Default file loaded when visiting a directory.

error_log

PHP error log. Check this when debugging issues.

File Extensions


Was this article helpful?