What 644 and 755 mean, the right settings for websites, and fixing permission errors.
Permissions decide who can read, change and run each file. Wrong permissions are a common cause of "403 Forbidden" errors and of websites that cannot save uploads.
The settings to use
| Item | Permission | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Folders | 755 | You can change them; the web server can read and open them |
| Files | 644 | You can change them; the web server can read them |
Configuration files with passwords, such as wp-config.php | 600 or 640 | Only your account can read them |
Never use 777. It lets anyone on the server change the file, and HostPanel does not allow it.
Changing permissions
- In HostPanel, go to Files → File Manager.
- Select the file or folder and open the Permissions dialog.
- Tick read, write and execute for owner, group and others, or choose a preset.
- For a folder, choose whether to apply the change to everything inside it too.
Fixing a WordPress site
If a WordPress site has permission problems after a move or a plugin install, open WP Toolkit → WordPress Sites, select the site and click Fix Permissions. It resets every file and folder to the correct values.