How to upload and manage files with File Manager

Find your website folder

Your main website files belong in:

Control panel	Website folder
cPanel	/home/USERNAME/public_html
DirectAdmin	/home/USERNAME/domains/DOMAIN/public_html

See How to log in to cPanel or DirectAdmin if you need help accessing your panel.

Open File Manager in cPanel

1. Sign in to cPanel.
2. Open Files.
3. Select File Manager.
4. Open public_html.

Open File Manager in DirectAdmin

1. Sign in to DirectAdmin.
2. Open System Info & Files.
3. Select File Manager.
4. Open domains.
5. Open your domain.
6. Open public_html.

Upload individual files

1. Open the destination folder.
2. Select Upload files or Upload.
3. Choose the files from your computer.
4. Wait for every upload to finish.
5. Return to File Manager.
6. Confirm that the files appear in the correct folder.

Your home page will normally be named index.html or index.php.

Upload a website as a ZIP file

Uploading one archive is usually quicker than uploading many small files.

1. Create a ZIP archive of the website on your computer.
2. Open the correct public_html folder.
3. Upload the ZIP file.
4. Select the uploaded archive.
5. Choose Extract.
6. Confirm the destination folder.
7. Check where the files were extracted.

Make sure the home page is directly inside public_html, not inside an extra nested folder.

Incorrect:

public_html/my-website/index.html

Correct for the main website:

public_html/index.html

Delete the uploaded ZIP file after extracting it. Backup archives left inside public_html may be downloadable by visitors.

Remove the placeholder page

New accounts contain public_html/index.html, which shows a Webway placeholder instead of your uploaded website. Delete or replace it after confirming that it is not part of an existing site.

Show hidden files in cPanel

Files beginning with a dot are hidden by default. This includes .htaccess.

1. Open File Manager.
2. Select Settings.
3. Enable Show Hidden Files (dotfiles).
4. Save the setting.

Show hidden files in DirectAdmin

Enable the option to display hidden files in File Manager's view settings if they are not already visible.

Take care with .htaccess

The .htaccess file can control redirects, PHP behaviour and application routing.

Before changing it:

1. Download a backup copy.
2. Make one change at a time.
3. Do not remove lines added by an application manager or control panel.
4. Restore the backup if the website stops working.

Rename, copy or move files

Select a file or folder to see the available actions. These normally include:

• Rename
• Copy
• Move
• Compress
• Extract
• Change permissions
• Delete

Check the destination carefully before moving files. Moving an application's files can break saved paths or configuration.

Before overwriting a live website

1. Download a backup of the current files.
2. Back up the database if the website uses one.
3. Keep configuration files such as .env or wp-config.php.
4. Upload the new files.
5. Test the website before deleting the backup.