4  Disable site indexes

For security, accessing websites not yet setup to serve content should not display a list of its file contents.

Before security became very important on the web, it was common to allow access to files directly from the web, so visitors could explore the file structure and even download files directly. This is what is allowed if the account allows indexes. Once a site gets a file like index.php in its root folder, it then serves the content as webpages, or at least something other than its file contents. Once Smallsite Design is installed, it will also just serve its content only.

It is prior to having site content that it is generally more secure to disable indexes, unless wanting to allow such access to web-facing folders where direct file downloads are to be allowed. If only serving Smallsite Design sites, disable indexes for web-facing folders, including for file transfers (FTP). Shared hosting often disables indexes in their default setup, but use this procedure to ensure they are.

After disabling indexes, any attempt to access a site's folders from the web will return a 403 Forbidden page.

Steps

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The role to perform this procedure is: Site owner.

To disable web-facing indexes:1Log into the cPanel console◢

if not already.

2Open the Indexes page◢

by clicking the Indexes link in the Advanced section.

The page is displayed, listing the account home folder and its direct child folders:

The two relevant folders to check are public_html and public_ftp. If both have an Index Type of No indexing, then there is no need for changes and cPanel can be closed.

3Disable website indexes◢

by performing:

3-1Open setting for public_html◢

by clicking its EDIT button.

The available settings are listed:

3-2Disable indexes◢

by clicking the No indexing option,
then clicking the Save button.

The page changes to show a notice that the indexing is disabled:

3-3Return to the folder list◢

by clicking the Go back link.

The listing for the folder shows No indexing for its Index Type.

4Disable FTP indexes◢

by repeating step 3 for the public_ftp folder.