How to use skeleton files to provide default content for customer accounts

This article describes how to use skeleton files to provide default content for new customer accounts.

Using skeleton files

As a reseller, when you create a new customer account, its public_html and public_ftp directories are empty by default. Because there is no index file present, visitors to the new site receive a “403 Forbidden” error message.

However, there is a way to provide default content for every new account that you create in WebHost Manager. For example, you can create an index.html file that is copied to the public_html directory of every new account. The HTML file might say “Welcome! Your site is working, but there is no content yet” or something similar. You can do the same thing for FTP, adding default files that are copied to every new account.

These default files are referred to as “skeleton” files, because they provide a basic structure for all new accounts.

To set up skeleton files for your reseller account, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your reseller cPanel account.
2. Open the File Manager:
   • If you are using the Jupiter theme, on the Tools page, in the Files section, click File Manager:

     

   • If you are using the Paper Lantern theme, in the FILES section of the cPanel home page, click File Manager:
     

     

3. On the File Manager page, click the Settings button at the upper right.
4. Select the Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) checkbox and click Save.
5. In the file listing pane, double-click the cpanel3-skel directory.

6. There are two directories in the cpanel3-skel directory:
   

   • public_ftp: Any files or directories that you create here are automatically copied to the public_ftp directory of new accounts.
   • public_html: Any files or directories that you create here are automatically copied to the public_html directory of new accounts. For example, you can create a default index.html file that appears for all new accounts.
7. Log in to WebHost Manager and create a new account. The new account's public_html and public_ftp directories contain the files you added to the cpanel3-skel directory.