This guide covers how to temporarily disable a website without permanently deleting its files. These steps could also be used if a backup is being restored and the original files need to be kept.
This article will explain the steps to rename a domain's document root in order to disable the site temporarily.
Disable Website
CAUTION: Before making changes, it is essential to review if renaming the document root of a site will affect any other addon domains or subdomains housed inside that directory. For example, if all addon domains' document roots are located in the public_html directory, renaming public_html will disable ALL websites housed in that directory.
- Log into the cPanel
- Navigate to the File Manager, located in the Files section
- Navigate to the site's document root and perform one of the following
- If files are in public_html
- Rename public_html to public_html.old
- Create a new public_html folder in the home directory
IMPORTANT: If Subdomains or Addon domains' document roots are housed in the public_html, they will need to be copied or moved to the newly created public_html. If not moved appropriately, the Subdomains and Addon domains will show as missing.
- If the files are in a different document root folder
- Rename the
domain.com
folder todomain.com.old
REPLACE: domain.com with the actual path to the document root.
- Rename the
- If files are in public_html
- Verify the site is no longer in place by attempting to navigate to it in the browser
NOTE: The Browser Cache may need to be cleared in order to see this change.