Fix “403 Forbidden” on your website (file permissions and common causes)

The HTTP error 403 Forbidden means the web server received your request, but refuses to serve the page. On GARMTECH hosting this is most often caused by incorrect file/folder permissions, wrong document root, or a blocking rule in .htaccess.

Step 1 — Confirm the correct document root

1. Log in to Plesk.
2. Open Websites & Domains → your domain → Hosting Settings.
3. Check Document root. For most websites it should be httpdocs.
4. Make sure your website files are actually inside /httpdocs.

Step 2 — Check for an index file

If the folder has no index file, the server may return 403 instead of listing directory contents.

• Make sure index.php or index.html exists in the document root.

Step 3 — Fix file and folder permissions

• Folders: usually 755
• Files: usually 644
• Avoid: 777 (insecure and may be blocked by security rules)

In Plesk File Manager you can select a file/folder and use Change Permissions.

Step 4 — Test .htaccess rules

• In /httpdocs, temporarily rename .htaccess to .htaccess.disabled.
• Reload the website. If 403 disappears, the issue is in the rules (common after migrations or CMS updates).
• Restore the file name after testing and fix the rule that blocks access.

Step 5 — Check logs

If 403 still happens, open the domain’s error_log in Plesk to see the exact reason.

Related articles

• View website logs in Plesk (access_log, error_log) and troubleshoot errors
• Connect to hosting via FTP‑SSL (FTPS) using FileZilla