This reference explains the directory structure of your HOSTDOG hosting account, what each folder contains, and where to place your website files, addons, and configuration files. Understanding this layout helps you navigate confidently via File Manager, FTP, or SSH.
Your home directory
When you log in via SSH or FTP, you land in your home directory. Its path follows this pattern:
/home/yourusername/This is the root of your hosting account. Everything you own on the server lives inside this directory. Your control panel and all tools reference paths relative to this location.
Key directories explained
| Directory | Purpose |
|---|---|
public_html/ |
Your primary website's document root. Any file placed here is publicly accessible at yourdomain.com. This is where your main site's files (index.html, WordPress installation, etc.) belong. |
public_html/addon-domain/ |
Addon domains are mapped to subdirectories inside public_html by default. For example, an addon domain example.net might map to public_html/example.net/. |
mail/ |
Stores email data for all mailboxes on your account. Each domain has its own subdirectory. Do not edit these files manually. |
logs/ |
Contains access logs and error logs for your websites. Useful for debugging 500 errors and monitoring traffic. |
tmp/ |
Temporary files. PHP sessions and upload temp files are stored here. The system cleans this periodically. |
etc/ |
Account-level configuration files managed by the control panel. Avoid editing directly. |
ssl/ |
SSL certificate files for your domains. Managed automatically by the control panel. |
.htaccess |
Apache configuration file in public_html. Controls redirects, rewrites, access rules, and more. Editable via File Manager or SSH. |
Where to place your website files
Your primary domain's files go directly into public_html/. For addon domains, the control panel creates a subdirectory inside public_html/ during setup. Subdomains can also be configured to point to any directory under your home folder.
.env files) inside public_html/ unless they are protected by .htaccess rules. Anything in public_html/ is web-accessible by default.
If you need to store files that should not be publicly accessible (such as private scripts or data files), place them one level above public_html/ — directly in your home directory. Your PHP or Node.js application can still read them, but they cannot be accessed via a browser.
Checking directory sizes
To see how much disk space each directory uses, connect via SSH and run:
du -sh ~/public_html ~/mail ~/logs ~/tmpYou can also check overall disk usage from your control panel's main dashboard, which shows a breakdown by files, databases, and email.
Frequently asked questions
No. public_html is the default document root configured by the web server. Renaming or moving it would break your website. If you need a different document root for a specific domain, configure it through your control panel's domain settings.
Error logs are stored in the logs/ directory in your home folder. You can also access them from your control panel under Metrics → Errors. For PHP-specific errors, check the error_log file in public_html/ or the directory where the error occurred.
Files starting with a dot (like .htaccess, .env, .well-known) are hidden files in Linux. They are used for configuration. In File Manager, enable Show Hidden Files in the settings to see them. Via SSH, use ls -la to list them.