File permissions control who can read, write, or execute files on your hosting account. Setting them wrong is a common cause of "site won't load" or "uploads fail" issues.
The defaults
For typical web hosting:
- Directories: 755 — owner can read/write/execute, others can read/execute (i.e., enter the directory).
- Files: 644 — owner can read/write, others can read.
If you upload via FTP or use the file manager, files come out at these defaults automatically. You usually don't need to think about it.
Changing permissions
In the portal:
- Go to Services → click hosting → Files tile.
- Right-click a file or folder → Change permissions.
- Set the value (or use the read/write/execute checkboxes for owner/group/other).
- Save.
Or use FTP — most clients (FileZilla, Cyberduck) have a "File permissions" right-click option that does the same thing.
Common values
- 755 — directories, executables, scripts.
- 644 — regular files (HTML, CSS, JS, images, PHP files).
- 600 — sensitive files like
wp-config.php(only owner can read). - 400 — even more locked down (read-only by owner).
- 777 — read/write/execute by anyone. Almost never the right answer — we'd reject it as a security risk on most managed hosting.
When you'd change them
- WordPress hardening: setting
wp-config.phpto 600 or 400 to keep credentials private. - Cron scripts: a custom shell script run from cron needs 755 (executable) instead of 644.
- Upload directories: WordPress, Drupal, etc. need writable upload folders — usually 755 works because PHP runs as your account user.
- Fixing post-restore permissions: if you restored files from a backup or migrated from another host, permissions can be wrong; resetting to 755/644 across the board often fixes it.
"My site shows 500 Internal Server Error"
Permissions are a common cause. If a directory is 777 or a CGI script is 644 (not executable), the server may refuse to serve it. To bulk-fix:
In the portal's File Manager, you can select multiple files/folders and set permissions in one go. Or via SSH on plans that support it:
find /home/youraccount/public_html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} +
find /home/youraccount/public_html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +
This sets every directory to 755 and every file to 644 — the standard defaults. Be careful if you have specific files that need different permissions (executables, sensitive configs).
Why 777 is bad
777 means anyone with shell access to the server (including, in some shared-hosting scenarios, other accounts) can read AND modify the file. For a web-accessible directory or script, it's also an open invitation for any compromised script anywhere on the server to write malware to your site.
There's almost never a real need for 777 in modern web hosting. If a tutorial or plugin tells you to chmod 777, it's probably wrong — try 755 first.
Power-user note
The file permissions system is chmod octal: each digit is owner/group/other, where 7 = read+write+execute, 6 = read+write, 5 = read+execute, 4 = read, 0 = nothing. So 644 is "owner read+write, group read, other read." Most CMS docs assume you know this; the file manager in the portal abstracts it away with checkboxes.