{"id":2240,"date":"2022-05-27T01:32:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T05:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/?p=2240"},"modified":"2022-05-27T01:32:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T05:32:01","slug":"what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is A Root Directory Of A Website?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for <strong>what is a root directory of a website?<\/strong> A root directory is a folder on the server or in cPanel that incorporates all of the contents or <strong>files of your website. It<\/strong>\u00a0is the top folder in the directory, usually designated as <em>public_html.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As a frequent internet user, you shouldn&#8217;t be shocked to know that all of your website files and folders are<strong> stored in one location<\/strong> on a server. Whenever anyone searches your domain on the internet, these content and files are processed hierarchically.<\/p>\n<p>To make it easy, let&#8217;s begin this article with what is a root directory of a website and where to find the root directory of a website. Also, read <a href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-the-difference-between-a-database-and-a-website\/\">What Is The Difference Between A Database And A Website?<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_61 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#What_Is_A_Root_Directory_Of_A_Website\" title=\"What Is A Root Directory Of A Website?\">What Is A Root Directory Of A Website?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#Structure_Of_A_Root_Directory\" title=\"Structure Of A Root Directory\">Structure Of A Root Directory<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#How_Do_I_Find_Root_Directory_Of_A_Website_Where_Is_Root_Directory_Of_My_Website\" title=\"How Do I Find Root Directory Of A Website? Where Is Root Directory Of My Website?\">How Do I Find Root Directory Of A Website? Where Is Root Directory Of My Website?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#Method_1_cPanel\" title=\"Method 1. cPanel\">Method 1. cPanel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#Method_2_VPS_Hosting\" title=\"Method 2. VPS Hosting\">Method 2. VPS Hosting<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#How_To_Find_System_Root_Directory_In_Windows\" title=\"How To Find System Root Directory In Windows?\">How To Find System Root Directory In Windows?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/what-is-a-root-directory-of-a-website\/#Final_Thoughts\" title=\"Final Thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_A_Root_Directory_Of_A_Website\"><\/span><strong>What Is A Root Directory Of A Website?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2248 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/root-directory-structure-1.png\" alt=\"What Is A Root Directory Of A Website\" width=\"938\" height=\"708\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/root-directory-structure-1.png 938w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/root-directory-structure-1-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/root-directory-structure-1-768x580.png 768w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/root-directory-structure-1-20x15.png 20w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The information that loads when users enter your website address into a Search engine is found in the <b>webserver&#8217;s root directory<\/b>. The term &#8220;<strong>Root<\/strong>&#8221; is called so because it is at the top of<strong>\u00a0the hierarchy<\/strong> in the directory folders.<\/p>\n<p>The root directory is a <strong>Unix-like operating system,<\/strong> and the root folders are <strong>marked with the slash &#8220;\/&#8221;<\/strong>. This folder, which is sometimes referred to as public_html, htdocs, www, or wwwroot, holds the index files index.php, index.html, and default.html.<\/p>\n<p>Among them, the <strong>root folder is always on the top<\/strong> of all folders. From the root directory, all the subsequent directories expand outwards. There could be <strong>multiple levels<\/strong> and subdirectories between the root directory (level 0) and the bottom-most subdirectory, as discussed in the next section.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Example of root directory:<\/strong> Our website domain is the <strong>root directory folder<\/strong> (level 0) and is represented as <a href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/\">https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>first level or subdirectory<\/strong> could be your pages like <a href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/about-us\/\">https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/about us\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, there could be <strong>more sub-levels<\/strong> depending on the design of your website. But as a user, you don&#8217;t have to find the root directory folder in this way but get it from the <strong>cPanel.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Apart from these, the root directory stores libraries, media files, HTML codes, etc., under different subdirectory root folders. It also incorporates sensitive data or information like <strong><em>robots.txt<\/em> and sitemap files<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/where-is-robots-txt-in-wordpress\/\">Where Is Robots.txt In WordPress? How To Edit Or Modify Robots.txt In WordPress?<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Structure_Of_A_Root_Directory\"><\/span><strong>Structure Of A Root Directory<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2250\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2250\" style=\"width: 980px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2250 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/layers-of-subdirectories.webp\" alt=\"what is a root directory of a website\" width=\"980\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/layers-of-subdirectories.webp 980w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/layers-of-subdirectories-272x300.webp 272w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/layers-of-subdirectories-929x1024.webp 929w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/layers-of-subdirectories-768x846.webp 768w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/layers-of-subdirectories-18x20.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2250\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sistrix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/verzeichnisstruktur-layer-example-1.png.webp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Credit: Sistrix.com<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>From the above discussion, you got the basic idea of what is a root directory of a website. As discussed earlier, it begins with level zero and is <strong>distributed to sublevels<\/strong> as a branched tree. However, it works differently for a user and a search engine crawler.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, all files inside your cPanel or hosting are <strong>not root directory folders; there<\/strong> could be settings or installation folders. The root directory folder usually begins from public_html\/<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s understand it with a simple <strong>example of the root directory system<\/strong> of a website.<\/p>\n<pre style=\"text-align: center;\">Application\/\r\n| Library\/\r\n| Templates\/\r\n| +-- config.php\r\npublic_html\/\r\n+-- Media\/\r\n| +-- image1.jpg\r\n| +-- image2.jpg\r\n--- includes\/\r\n| +-- style.css\r\n| +-- script.js\r\n+-- index.php<\/pre>\n<p>As earlier mentioned, the root directory hierarchy begins from the moment where a visitor reaches your website via a browser. So, in the above example, the root directory folder is <em><strong>public_html\/,<\/strong><\/em> whereas <em><strong>+&#8211; Media\/<\/strong><\/em> is the subdirectory or sublevels.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, when a visitor visits your homepage, the <em><strong>+&#8211;index.php<\/strong> <\/em>folder gets active. Remember, the files or folders that are not liable for being publicly exposed, like database login, are always <strong>outside the root folder<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_I_Find_Root_Directory_Of_A_Website_Where_Is_Root_Directory_Of_My_Website\"><\/span><strong>How Do I Find Root Directory Of A Website? Where Is Root Directory Of My Website?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After knowing what is a root directory of a website, you probably looking for <strong>how to access the root directory<\/strong>. So, I will give you a brief overview to find root directory folders.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the hosting you are availing of, the root directory files can be<strong> accessed through<\/strong> <strong>cPanel<\/strong>, web hosting, or VPS hosting. Commonly, you find your <strong>root directory files<\/strong> of a website inside the public_html folder.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_1_cPanel\"><\/span><strong>Method 1. cPanel<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>easiest way to find the root directory<\/strong> of a website is by utilizing the cPanel (I&#8217;m supposing your site is hosted on cPanel). Nowadays, cPanel becomes the first choice of almost <strong>all site owners<\/strong> due to its simplicity.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Log in to your cPanel (with username and password).<\/li>\n<li>Once logged in, scroll down, and look for the <strong>files<\/strong> section.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2252\" src=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/file-manager-in-cpanel-e1653568386956.png\" alt=\"find root directory of a website\" width=\"796\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/file-manager-in-cpanel-e1653568386956.png 796w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/file-manager-in-cpanel-e1653568386956-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/file-manager-in-cpanel-e1653568386956-768x366.png 768w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/file-manager-in-cpanel-e1653568386956-20x10.png 20w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carefully look at the different folders; you can see the <strong>public_html<\/strong> folder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2253\" src=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/public_html-folder.jpg\" alt=\"what is a root directory of a website\" width=\"1084\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/public_html-folder.jpg 1084w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/public_html-folder-300x81.jpg 300w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/public_html-folder-1024x276.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/public_html-folder-768x207.jpg 768w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/public_html-folder-20x5.jpg 20w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1084px) 100vw, 1084px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Now, click on the public_html folder, where you can access all the root folders or subdirectories relevant to your website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember, all directories within the <em>public_html<\/em> folder must have <strong>0755 permissions<\/strong>, and the <em>public_html<\/em> folder must always have <strong>0750 permissions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_2_VPS_Hosting\"><\/span><strong>Method 2. VPS Hosting<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>VPS hosting is a <strong>virtualized version<\/strong> of a specialized physical server and has its own processors, memory, and disk storage. If you&#8217;re using VPS like <strong>DigitalOcean, Vultr, etc.,<\/strong> then you can find the root directory using an <strong>FTP client<\/strong> like <a href=\"https:\/\/filezilla-project.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FileZilla<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2256 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/filezilla-public_html-1.jpg\" alt=\"what is a root directory of a website\" width=\"1174\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/filezilla-public_html-1.jpg 1174w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/filezilla-public_html-1-300x98.jpg 300w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/filezilla-public_html-1-1024x336.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/filezilla-public_html-1-768x252.jpg 768w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/filezilla-public_html-1-20x7.jpg 20w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1174px) 100vw, 1174px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Login to FileZilla<\/strong> using your host, username, and password. Type \/public_html in the search box of site remote, and then click on the <strong><em>public_html<\/em> folder<\/strong>. Now, you can locate your required root folders like wp-admin, wp-content, etc.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Find_System_Root_Directory_In_Windows\"><\/span><strong>How To Find System Root Directory In Windows?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You shouldn&#8217;t be <strong>confused<\/strong> the root directory of a website with the root directory of a system like Windows. We already discussed what is a root directory of a website and where to find it.<\/p>\n<p>To <strong>identify the drivers<\/strong> that are really that are being used, as well as the system log archives and troubleshoot failure <strong>dump files<\/strong>, navigate to the system root directory. Let&#8217;s see how to find root directory of Windows.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Press Window and R key simultaneously; <strong>Win+R.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Type <strong>Cmd<\/strong> in the program front and hit the <strong>Enter<\/strong> button.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2259 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/system-command-1.jpg\" alt=\"how to find system directory\" width=\"586\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/system-command-1.jpg 586w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/system-command-1-300x123.jpg 300w, https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/system-command-1-20x8.jpg 20w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 586px) 100vw, 586px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A Command Window will appear on your screen.<\/li>\n<li>Type <em><strong>set systemroot<\/strong><\/em> in front of the system user name (as shown in the above screenshot).<\/li>\n<li>The next line displays the SystemRoot (or system root directory) of your system; In our case, it is <em><strong>SystemRoot=C:\\Windows.<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is all about <strong>what is a root directory of a website.<\/strong> In this article, we have comprehensively discussed what is root directory folder, why it exists, and how to find root directory of a website.<\/p>\n<p>In simple terms, the <strong>root directory is the primary folder of your website&#8217;s<\/strong>\u00a0all content and files. The root directory can be located through cPanel or FTP clients like FileZilla.<\/p>\n<p>Also, it could have <strong>multiple subdirectories<\/strong> that depend on your website design and structure. I hope you like this post; any queries and suggestions are welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for what is a root directory of a website? A root directory is a folder on the server or in cPanel that incorporates all of the contents or files of your website. It\u00a0is the top folder in the directory, usually designated as public_html. As a frequent internet user, you shouldn&#8217;t be shocked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2667,2671,2668,2666,2675,2669,2674,2661,2660,2664,2665,2663,2659,2670,2677,2656,2672,2673,2657,2676,2658,2662],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2240"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2268,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240\/revisions\/2268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basicwebguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}