I Just Bought Linux Hosting — How Do I Upload My Website Files?
So you’ve just purchased Linux Hosting — congratulations! 🎉 That’s a great first step toward launching your website. But now you might be asking yourself, “Okay, what’s next? How do I actually upload my website files and make my site live?” Don’t worry — you’re not alone. This is one of the most common questions new website owners have after buying hosting. The good news? Uploading your website to Linux hosting is straightforward once you understand the process. In this guide by Purvaco, we’ll walk you through everything — from preparing your files, connecting to your hosting account, and uploading them safely, to making your site go live on the internet. Let’s get started. Understanding What Linux Hosting Is Before we dive into the steps, it helps to understand what Linux hosting actually means. Linux hosting is a type of web hosting that runs on the Linux operating system — the most popular OS for web servers. It’s secure, stable, and supports most web technologies like PHP, MySQL, WordPress, HTML, and Python. If your website uses technologies such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, or any PHP-based framework (like Laravel), Linux hosting is perfect for you. At Purvaco, our Linux hosting environment is optimized for speed and reliability, meaning you don’t have to worry about server-side configurations — you just focus on your website. What You’ll Need Before Uploading Let’s make sure you have everything ready before starting: Your website files — HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, or your CMS installation (like WordPress). Access to your Purvaco hosting account — login credentials for your control panel (like cPanel or DirectAdmin). Domain name connected — your domain should be pointing to your hosting nameservers. An FTP client (optional) — like FileZilla or WinSCP, if you prefer uploading through FTP. If you have all of these, you’re ready to move on. Where to Upload Your Files In Linux hosting, your main website files go inside a folder called public_html (also known as the document root). Here’s how it works: Anything you place inside public_html becomes publicly accessible via your domain. Files outside this folder are not accessible from the web (and are used for configuration or private data). So if your domain is www.example.com, and you upload an index.html file inside public_html, visiting your domain will show that file instantly. Different Ways to Upload Your Website Files You can upload your website files to Linux hosting in three main ways: Using the File Manager in your hosting control panel (cPanel). Using an FTP client like FileZilla. Using SSH (Secure Shell) for advanced users. Let’s go through each one step-by-step. Option 1: Upload via cPanel File Manager (Beginner-Friendly) If you’re new to hosting, this is the easiest and most visual way. Step 1: Log in to your cPanel Go to the link provided by Purvaco (like yourdomain.com/cpanel) Enter your username and password. Step 2: Open File Manager Once inside cPanel, scroll down to the Files section. Click on File Manager. Step 3: Navigate to public_html In the left panel, open the public_html directory. This is the folder where your website files belong. Step 4: Upload your files Click on the Upload button at the top. Select all your website files (or ZIP folder) from your computer. Wait for the upload to complete. Step 5: Extract if it’s a ZIP file If you uploaded a ZIP archive, right-click it and select Extract. All files will unpack into the folder. Step 6: Check your website Open your domain in the browser (like www.example.com) You should now see your website live! This method is quick, reliable, and doesn’t require any external software. Option 2: Upload via FTP (For Regular or Large Transfers) If you frequently update your website, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the better choice. Step 1: Install an FTP client Download and install FileZilla, Cyberduck, or WinSCP. Step 2: Gather your FTP credentials You’ll find these inside your Purvaco control panel: Host: ftp.yourdomain.com Username: Your cPanel username Password: Your cPanel password Port: 21 (default FTP port) Step 3: Connect to your server Open FileZilla → Enter the credentials → Click Quickconnect. You’ll now see two panels: Left side: Your computer Right side: Your Linux hosting server Step 4: Navigate to public_html On the right side, double-click the public_html folder. Step 5: Drag and drop files Drag all your website files from your computer (left) to the public_html folder (right).The progress bar at the bottom will show upload status. Step 6: Verify your upload Once done, open your website in a browser. Your files should now be live. FTP is great for transferring large sites or when your internet connection is slow — it can resume interrupted uploads automatically. Option 3: Upload via SSH (For Developers and Advanced Users) If you’re familiar with terminal commands, SSH gives you the fastest and most secure control over your server. Step 1: Enable SSH Access Log in to your Purvaco hosting control panel → Enable SSH Access (if not already active). Step 2: Connect using SSH Open your terminal (on Linux/Mac) or use PuTTY (on Windows): ssh username@yourdomain.com Enter your password when prompted. Step 3: Navigate to your website directory cd public_html Step 4: Upload files using SCP or SFTP If uploading from another system, use: scp -r /local/path username@yourdomain.com:/home/username/public_html Step 5: Extract archives (if needed) If you uploaded a ZIP file: unzip sitefiles.zip SSH is perfect for developers managing frameworks or applications that need command-line control, like Laravel, Node.js, or Python. Setting Correct File Permissions After uploading, you might sometimes see errors like “403 Forbidden” or “Permission denied.”This usually means your file permissions are incorrect. Here’s the general rule for Linux hosting: Files: 644 Folders: 755 You can change permissions via cPanel → File Manager → Right-click file → Change Permissions. In FTP clients, you can right-click and choose “File Permissions.” Correct permissions ensure your files are both accessible and secure. What About Databases? (For WordPress, PHP, or CMS Users) If your website uses a database (like WordPress or