If you encounter a 403 Forbidden error when opening your website, it means that the server was not able to authorize your request. This may be due to a few different reasons:
Incorrect A Record
Go to your domain’s DNS Zone and make sure that the A record is set to the IP of your hosting plan:
If your domain is pointing to Hostinger, follow this guide: How to manage A records
If your domain is pointing elsewhere by nameservers, you will need to go to your domain’s active DNS Zone and check the A record there
After making any changes to your DNS records, allow up to 24 hours for them to propagate fully, and your website should start working! 😊
Incorrect File Structure or Permissions
You may have incorrect file or folder permissions. If that’s the case, you can easily fix the permissions of your files.
Alternatively, the public_html folder is missing or empty. Go to Websites → Manage and open the File Manager:
If the folder is missing, create a new directory named public_html, and make sure to upload your website files in this location. In case your files are in a different folder, move them to the correct path.
Issues on the .htaccess File
To check if the .htaccess file may be corrupted or have some incorrect configurations, go to the public_html folder of your domain using the File Manager, locate the .htaccess file, and rename it, e.g., to .htaccess-disabled:
Clear your browser cache and try accessing your website – if it works, it means you need to double-check the code within your .htaccess file. Some common issues are:
Deny rules
Incorrect rewrite rules
Improperly set redirections
For WordPress-based websites, some security plugins can add Deny from All rules to your .htaccess files:
In that case, look for these lines and remove them if necessary.
NOTE
These WordPress plugins can also create .htaccess files with deny rules in directories like wp-admin and prevent you from reaching them
Further Steps
While these are the most common reasons for the 403 error, there still may be other factors that you can consider, such as a missing index page, a faulty WordPress plugin, or a malware infection.
For detailed information on any 403 errors encountered on your website, you can check the Access Logs 💡
You can find more information about these cases and how to fix them in this comprehensive tutorial: What Is the 403 Forbidden Error and How to Fix it, as well as by checking the following video tutorial: