Uploading Your Website: cPanel File Manager and FTP

Getting your website live on Momo Cloud is straightforward once you know where your files need to go and which upload method suits you best — this guide walks you through both cPanel File Manager and FTP so you can choose the right tool for the job.

Where Your Website Files Must Go

Every shared hosting account on Momo Cloud comes with a document root folder called public_html. This is the folder that is served to visitors when they type your domain name into a browser. Files placed outside of public_html are not publicly accessible.

Your main (home) page must be named index.html or index.php and placed directly inside public_html. When someone visits your domain, the web server automatically looks for a file with that exact name. If it cannot find one, visitors will either see a blank directory listing or the default cPanel placeholder page instead of your site.

Tip: If your site was built with WordPress, a website builder, or a framework, the installer usually places files in the correct location automatically. This guide is for uploading custom or pre-built website files manually.

Method 1 — cPanel File Manager

File Manager is built directly into cPanel and requires no extra software. It is the fastest option for uploading a small number of files or a compressed .zip archive of your entire site.

Step 1: Log In to cPanel

1. Go to your Momo Cloud client area and click Login to cPanel next to your hosting account, or navigate directly to yourdomain.com/cpanel.
2. Enter your cPanel username and password. If you have forgotten your credentials, reset them from the Momo Cloud client area under Hosting → Manage → Change Password.

Step 2: Open File Manager

1. In cPanel, scroll to the Files section and click File Manager.
2. File Manager opens in a new tab showing your account's directory tree on the left and file contents on the right.
3. In the left panel, click on public_html to navigate into that folder. You can also double-click it in the right panel. The breadcrumb at the top of the page should read /public_html.

Step 3: Upload Individual Files

1. Click the Upload button in the toolbar at the top of File Manager.
2. An upload page opens. Click Select File (or drag files onto the drop zone) and choose the files from your computer.
3. Wait for the progress bar to reach 100% for each file, then click Go Back to …/public_html to return to the file list.
4. Confirm your files are now visible inside public_html.

Step 4: Upload a .zip Archive and Extract It (Recommended for Whole Sites)

If your website has many files and folders, compress them into a single .zip file on your computer first, upload the archive, and then extract it inside cPanel. This is much faster than uploading files one by one.

1. On your computer, select all your website files and folders, right-click, and choose Compress to ZIP (or use any zip utility).
2. Inside File Manager, make sure you are in public_html, then click Upload and upload the .zip file.
3. Once uploaded, go back to public_html. Click once on the .zip file to select it.
4. Click Extract in the toolbar. A dialog box appears — confirm the destination is /public_html and click Extract File(s).
5. After extraction completes, you can delete the .zip file by selecting it and clicking Delete.

Tip: When you extract, make sure your files land directly in public_html and not inside a sub-folder created by the zip. If a folder like public_html/mysite/ was created, move the contents up one level using the Move option in File Manager.

Method 2 — FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

FTP is ideal when you have a large site, need to transfer many files regularly, or prefer working with a dedicated file transfer program on your desktop. Momo Cloud recommends using FTPS (FTP with TLS encryption) for secure transfers.

Step 1: Create an FTP Account in cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel and go to the Files section, then click FTP Accounts.
2. Under Add FTP Account, fill in a username (for example, uploads), a strong password, and set the Directory to public_html so the FTP user is restricted to that folder.
3. Click Create FTP Account. Your new account will appear in the list below.

Tip: The full FTP username is always in the format username@yourdomain.com (for example, uploads@yourdomain.com). You will need this full address when connecting with FileZilla.

Step 2: FTP Connection Settings

Step 3: Connect with FileZilla

FileZilla is a free, open-source FTP client available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

1. Download and install FileZilla from filezilla-project.org.
2. Open FileZilla and go to File → Site Manager, then click New Site.
3. Set Protocol to FTP — File Transfer Protocol and Encryption to Require explicit FTP over TLS (FTPS).
4. Enter the Host, Port (21), Username, and Password from the table above.
5. Click Connect. If prompted to trust the server's certificate, click OK or Trust to proceed.
6. Once connected, the right panel in FileZilla shows your server's files. Navigate to public_html if it is not already open.
7. In the left panel, browse to the website files on your computer.
8. Select the files and folders you want to upload, then drag them from the left panel into the public_html folder on the right. FileZilla will queue and transfer all files automatically.

File and Folder Permissions

Permissions control who can read, write, or execute files on the server. Incorrect permissions can cause your site to show errors or become inaccessible.

• Files should be set to 644 — the owner can read and write; everyone else can only read.
• Folders (directories) should be set to 755 — the owner can read, write, and enter; everyone else can read and enter.

To change permissions in File Manager, right-click a file or folder and choose Change Permissions. In FileZilla, right-click and select File permissions.

Tip: Avoid setting files to 777 (full access for everyone). This is a security risk and some servers will refuse to run scripts with that permission level.

Troubleshooting

Site shows the cPanel default page or a directory listing

This almost always means your index.html or index.php file is missing, misnamed (for example, Index.HTML with wrong capitalisation), or was not placed directly in public_html. Open File Manager, go to public_html, and confirm the file exists with exactly the right name in lowercase.

Files uploaded into the wrong folder

Check that your files are inside public_html and not in your home directory (/) or a sub-folder. In File Manager, the breadcrumb at the top must read /public_html when you see your files.

Permission errors (403 Forbidden)

A 403 error usually means a file or folder has incorrect permissions. Set files to 644 and folders to 755 as described above, and ensure there is a valid index file in the folder being accessed.

FTP connection refused or times out

Double-check that you are using the correct host (your domain name or the server hostname from your welcome email), the full username in the format user@yourdomain.com, port 21, and that FTPS (explicit TLS) is selected. If your internet connection uses a restrictive firewall, try switching FileZilla to Passive Mode under Edit → Settings → FTP → Transfer Mode.

Zip extraction created an extra sub-folder

If extracting your archive produced a folder like public_html/website/, select all files inside that sub-folder in File Manager, click Move, and set the destination to /public_html. Then delete the now-empty sub-folder.

You Are All Set

Whether you prefer the convenience of cPanel File Manager or the speed and flexibility of FTP with FileZilla, Momo Cloud's shared hosting platform supports both methods so you can get your website online quickly. If you run into any issues not covered here, open a support ticket from your Momo Cloud client area and our team will be happy to assist.