Website management FAQ

Linux web hosting directories

The table below lists the common directories on a Web Hosting instance that runs the Linux operating system.

File size limit for web uploads

• Simple Application Server and Exclusive Web Hosting

  Language	Windows	Linux
  ASP	10 MB	Not applicable
  ASP.NET	30 MB	Not applicable
  PHP	2 MB	200 MB

• Shared Web Hosting

  Language	Windows	Linux
  ASP	2 MB	Not applicable
  ASP.NET	30 MB	Not applicable
  PHP	2 MB	200 MB

Failure to change file permissions with FTP on Windows

By default, a Windows virtual host grants full control to the IIS process user. Therefore, you cannot change file permissions with an FTP client.

Open ports on Web Hosting

Troubleshoot FTP connection failures

If you cannot connect to Web Hosting over FTP, troubleshoot the connection by checking the following:

• Check the FTP connection method.

  Use a more secure and feature-rich FTP client, such as FileZilla or CuteFTP, to connect to Web Hosting. For more information, see Manage website application files by using FileZilla and Manage website application files by using CuteFTP.

• Check the error message in the FTP client.

  If the error message is 331 Please specify the password or 530 Login incorrect, the FTP password is incorrect. Re-enter the password.

  Note

  If you forget the password, reset it in the management console. For more information, see Reset the management console password and FTP password.

• Check your FTP login details.

  Obtain your FTP login details on the site information page of the management console and verify that the details you entered in the FTP client are correct.

  

• Check the network status.

  • Run the ping command to check your connection to the Web Hosting FTP address.

    Run the ping command:

    ping <Web Hosting FTP address>

    The following output indicates that the network connection to the FTP address is normal.

    C:\Users\xxx>ping xxx
    Pinging xxx [xxx] with 32 bytes of data:
    Reply from xxx: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=50
    Reply from xxx: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=50
    Reply from xxx: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=50
    Reply from xxx: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
    
    Ping statistics for xxx:
        Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
    Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
        Minimum = 28ms, Maximum = 29ms, Average = 28ms

  • If the ping command fails or you do not receive the expected output, there may be a network issue. Run the tracert command to trace the route and identify the point of failure.

    Run the tracert command:

    tracert <Web Hosting FTP address>

    This output indicates a network issue. You can identify the point of failure by locating the hop where 'Request timed out' messages begin.

    C:\Users\xxx>tracert xxx
    Tracing route to xxx [xxx] over a maximum of 30 hops:
    
      1     3 ms     4 ms     2 ms  xxx
      2     1 ms     3 ms    16 ms  xxx
      3    16 ms     3 ms     2 ms  xxx
      4     3 ms     4 ms     3 ms  xxx
      5    24 ms    24 ms     *     xxx
      6    30 ms    31 ms    29 ms  xxx
      7    25 ms    25 ms    25 ms  xxx
      8     *        *        *     Request timed out.
      9     *        *        *     Request timed out.
     10     *        *        *     Request timed out.
     11     *

    Note

    If the issue persists, submit a ticket.

Common FTP connection errors

For more information, see "Connection refused" error when connecting to a host using FTP, Garbled characters when you use FileZilla to connect to a site, and Errors when connecting to a Web Hosting instance with FileZilla.

Slow FTP transfers

Slow FTP transfers can be caused by issues with either the FTP client or the FTP server. Possible causes include:

• International link congestion when accessing Web Hosting in a region outside the Chinese mainland.

• High resource consumption on the FTP server.

• A DDoS attack on the FTP server.

• Low network bandwidth on the FTP client.

• Large file transfers that occupy FTP server resources for an extended time.

• Uploading a large number of files at once.

To resolve the issue, try the following solutions:

• If your Web Hosting instance is in a region outside the Chinese mainland, request a refund for it and purchase a new one in a region within the Chinese mainland.

• Restart the FTP client.

• Use a different FTP client to upload the files.

• Check your network status and resolve any issues you find.

• Compress the files before uploading them to your Web Hosting instance.

FTP connection failure using Internet Explorer

Possible cause: Clients without a public IP can only connect to an FTP server in PASV mode. However, Internet Explorer uses PORT mode by default, which causes the connection to fail.

Solution:

• If you are using Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, follow these steps:

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. From the menu bar, select Tools > Internet Options.

  3. In the Internet Options window, click the Advanced tab.

  4. On the Advanced tab, in the Settings section, select Use Passive FTP (for firewall and DSL modem compatibility).

  5. Click OK.

• If you are using a version of Internet Explorer earlier than 6.0, or if connection details are not visible, troubleshooting can be difficult. We recommend using dedicated FTP client software, such as FileZilla or CuteFTP, to connect to the FTP server.

Handle a DDoS suspension notice

Handle website compromises or CAC notices

Possible cause: This issue typically occurs when an attacker exploits vulnerabilities in your website's application code, leading to a defaced homepage or other unauthorized modifications.

Blocking search engines with the robots protocol

The robots protocol, officially named the Robots Exclusion Protocol, is a standard a website uses to instruct search engine crawlers which pages they can and cannot access. This helps prevent crawlers from consuming excessive traffic and bandwidth. For more information about the robots protocol, see external documentation.

robots.txt parameter configuration

Search engines and user-agents

Examples

Prevent hacker attacks on your website

To protect your website on Web Hosting, follow these security best practices:

• Follow strong password policies for all credentials, including member, FTP, email, database, and admin passwords.

  • A secure password must be 8 to 30 characters long and include an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, and a number. Adding a special character increases its strength. For example, a password like d9C&v6Q0 is strong.

  • Regularly rotate your passwords, for example, every few months, to maintain security.

  • Practice good password hygiene. Regularly clear your temporary files and avoid using password-saving features, such as the "Remember Me" option in browsers or connection dialogs.

• Avoid using insecure file upload mechanisms that lack proper validation. This creates a common vulnerability, allowing hackers to upload a trojan and compromise your website.

• Implement CAPTCHA on your backend management portal. This helps prevent automated brute-force attacks.

• If you use an Access database, avoid using the .mdb extension for the database file. Instead, use an extension that is executed by the server, such as .asp or .asa. This prevents hackers from directly downloading the database file.

• Use obscure names for your database files and directories. For example, you can start the database filename with a special character like # and place it in a non-obvious directory. This makes it more difficult for hackers to locate the file.

Improve website security

Follow these best practices to secure your website:

• Secure the username and password for your website's backend.

• Disable the FTP feature on your Web Hosting instance when not in use. For instructions, see Enable and disable FTP.

• Regularly rotate your management console password, FTP login password, and database password.

Handling a full web space

Possible cause: Your web space can fill up due to increased website traffic or large application or website files. This can prevent your website from functioning properly.

Switch to static-file-only mode

The PHP environment in Cloud Web Hosting cannot be directly disabled. If your website consists only of static files and contains no dynamic programs, such as PHP, you can configure permissions to switch it to a static-file-only mode.

1. Log on to the Cloud Web Hosting management page.
2. Find the Cloud Web Hosting instance that you want to manage and click Manage in the Actions column.
3. In the navigation pane on the left, choose File Management > File Manager.

4. On the File Manager page, upload your website's static files.

   For more information, see Upload files.

5. Click the site root directory, select the uploaded website files and directories, and then click Batch Set Permissions.

6. On the Permission Settings page, select Read and Write (Script execution disabled) and click Confirm.

7. Visit your website again.

   If your website loads correctly, static-file-only mode is enabled.