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What is a 403 Error?

Emily Hall
Updated

A 403 error generally means you are being blocked from accessing a page. Common 403 error messages look like this:

HTTP 403 Permission Required
Forbidden 
You are not authorized to view this page
Error 403 Access Denied
Permission Denied

Here are some common reasons why the 403 error occurs.

Empty public_html Directory

This is the directory that should store all the website files for your primary domain. When someone types in your primary domain name, this is the directory that will be referenced to get your website data.

If your files are stored in another directory, you will get a 403 error.

Is it happening to you?

To see if this is happening to you, go to your server and check which directory your website files are in. If they are not in the public_htmldirectory, this is most likely the cause of the error.

How to fix

To fix this, move your website files into the public_html.

 

No Index Page

Pages with the name index.html or index.php are automatically configured to be the home page of your website.

Is it happening to me?

Check your homepage file to see what it is named. If it is not index.html or index.php, it may be causing your site to give you a 403 error.

How to fix

If you don't have a homepage yet...

All you have to do is create an index page for your website. This will give visitors a place to land when visiting your site.  

If you already have a homepage...

Changing Name

If you already have a home page, but it’s not named index, you can change its name (and edit the name in the pages linked to it).

Changing Default Homepage

You can change the default home page in the ACC.

Choose the tutorial that reflects your ACC interface type: 

Not sure what the difference is? See Which ACC Interface Am I Using? 

If you are using the Legacy Interface:

  1. Log into the Account Control Center (ACC)
  2. Click Domains
  3. Click Manage Your Domain Names in the drop-down
  4. Click on the domain name of your site
  5. Click Manage Web Settings
  6. Click Index Page
  7. Next to Index Filenames, input the name of your homepage
  8. Click Update

If successful, a green confirmation bar will appear at the top of the page and tell you the Index Pages have been updated.

If you are using the New ACC Interface:

  1. Log into the Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2. In the top navigation bar, click Domains
  3. Find your site and click its Edit button
  4. Under the “Overview” section, find Web Directory Settings and click its Edit button
  5. Find Index Page and click its Edit button
  6. Next to Index Filenames, input the name of your homepage
  7. Click the Save Changes button

Setting Up a 301 Redirect

The third way to do this is to set up a 301 redirect from index.html or index.php to your homepage. To see how, check out our article, How to Set Up 301 Redirects.

 

Permissions

File permissions are assigned to files to establish who can interact with them. If your file permissions are incorrectly configured, they may be generating a 403 error.

Is it happening to me?

If your files are in the correct directory and the home page is correctly configured, this may be the cause of your 403 error. Check your file permissions to be sure.

If you want to learn more about accessing your file permissions and how they operate, see our article, File Permissions.

How to fix

Read our File Permissions article to learn about permissions and how you can set new ones in the ACC.

You can also contact our Support Team, and they will help ensure your permissions are set up correctly. 

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