Fixing a 403 Forbidden Error
Learn how to fix a 403 Forbidden error. This error means the server found your website but is not allowed to show the page. It is usually caused by a missing home page file, file permissions or a rule in a settings file.
Steps
- Log in to Plesk via your Zeniar Portal
- Select Files from the left-hand menu and open the httpdocs folder for your domain
- Check that the folder contains a home page file named index.html or index.php, in lower case. Without one, the server has nothing to show and returns a 403 error
- Click on a folder that will not load and select Change Permissions. Folders should be set to 755 and files to 644
- If there is a .htaccess file, rename it to .htaccess-old and reload your website. If the error goes away, a rule in that file is blocking access. Rename it back once the rule is corrected
- Check whether the folder is password protected. See Password-Protecting a Folder in Plesk
- Open your logs and find the line for the 403 error, which often gives the reason. See Viewing Domain Logs in Plesk
Please note: If the log line mentions ModSecurity, our web application firewall has blocked the request. Send us the log line so we can review the rule. See Getting Help from Zeniar Support
Note: If only you see the error and other people can view the website, your IP address may have been blocked temporarily after repeated failed logins.
Your website should now load without a 403 Forbidden error.