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My website shows «Index of» — what does it mean?

Is your site showing Index of / when you visit it? Find out what it means, why it happens, and how to fix it step by step in just a few minutes.

Web Hosting

What does «Index of /» mean?

This message means your site does not have a homepage file (such as index.html or index.php) in the root folder of the domain. When the web server cannot find a main file to display, it lists the folder contents (like a file browser).

This typically happens when:

  • You have not uploaded your website to the server yet.

  • You uploaded the files to the wrong folder.

  • The main file has a different name (for example, «home.html» instead of «index.html»).

  • The file is corrupted or has incorrect permissions.

How to fix it (step-by-step guide)

Option 1: Upload your site correctly

  1. Log in to your control panel (DirectAdmin or cPanel).

  2. Go to the File Manager or use FTP (such as FileZilla).

  3. Navigate to the root folder of your domain:

    • In DirectAdmin: /domains/yourdomain.com/public_html/

    • In cPanel: /public_html/ (or a subdirectory if it is an additional domain)

  4. Make sure there is a file named index.html or index.php.

  5. If it is not there, upload it now (it should be the main entry file of your site).

Tip: If you are using a CMS like WordPress, make sure you have completed the installation correctly.

Option 2: Verify you are not inside an empty subfolder

Sometimes when uploading files via FTP, you may have placed them in a subfolder like /public_html/mysite/, so nothing is visible when accessing the main domain.

Check that your files are directly inside /public_html/, not in a secondary folder.

Option 3: Disable directory listing

If your site is not ready yet but you do not want visitors to see the file listing, you can:

  • Upload a temporary index.html file that says «Site under construction».

  • Use a .htaccess file to disable directory listing. For example:

    mathematica

    Options -Indexes


Final recommendations

  • Always check that your main file is named exactly «index» with the correct extension (.html or .php).

  • Use your control panel tools to verify permissions and file locations.

  • If you are not sure, contact your hosting provider's technical support (we are here to help at Bacan.com!).