HostPapa Knowledge Base

To protect your website from malicious activity, we recommend that you secure your WordPress files and folders by changing their file permissions. File permissions govern who is able to read, write, modify and delete files or folders on your HostPapa server.

You can change file permissions using an FTP client, or by using the cPanel File Manager.

Changing file permissions using an FTP client

There are many FTP client applications available for Windows PCs, Macs and Linux computers, many of which are available to download for free. Take a look at FileZilla and CoreFTP to try out two popular options.

Open your FTP application and enter your HostPapa FTP server details. You can retrieve these credentials from your cPanel dashboard at My cPanel > FTP Accounts.

For convenience, if you are using FileZilla, CoreFTP or Cyberduck FTP clients, you can download and import your FTP configuration details from the cPanel dashboard.

Once you have logged in, navigate to your WordPress folder. Right click the folder and select File permissions…

HostPapa recommends that WordPress folder permissions be set to the numeric value 755 and that files be set to 644.

Enter 755 in the Numeric Value field and ensure the box next to Recurse into subdirectories is checked. Below, click the radio button next to Apply to directories only.

Click OK to continue.

Now enter the WordPress folder and look for your index.php file. Right click the file and, once again, select File permissions…

This time, set the Numeric Value to 644 and click OK.

You can find out more about working with FTP at the HostPapa knowledge base.

Changing file permissions using cPanel File Manager

Alternatively, you can use cPanel File Manager to change the file and folder permissions in your WordPress installation.

Log in to your HostPapa Dashboard and select My cPanel.

Now select File Manager.

Right click on your WordPress folder and select Change Permissions from the menu displayed.

Enter 755 in the Permission fields and click Change Permissions to continue.

Now double click your WordPress folder and find the index.php file. Right click the file and, once again, select Change Permissions.

Set the Permission value to 644 and click OK.

For further questions, or if you need help, please open a support ticket from your HostPapa Dashboard. Follow this link to learn how.