What a document root is

A document root is the folder on the server that LiteSpeed treats as the top of your site. When a visitor requests a path such as /about, the server looks inside that folder for the matching file. On our shared hosting with cPanel, the primary domain usually uses /home/USER/public_html. If you upload into the wrong directory, the live site never changes and it can look as if nothing happened.

Find the right folder for each hostname

Every domain and subdomain on the account has its own document root listed in cPanel. Addon domains use the folder you chose at setup, and subdomains get their own path as well. public_html is common for the main site, but it is not always the folder that answers for every name. Open Domains in cPanel and read the document root column instead of relying on memory. WordPress and other apps belong in that listed root when you want the homepage to load them. Nested paths such as public_html/wordpress, cgi-bin, or mail are the wrong place for a full site install you mean to serve at /.

pwd; ls -la ~/public_html | head

In SSH, pwd shows the directory you are actually in before you upload or extract files. File Manager often opens in /home/USER, which sits one level above the usual web root. Themes or zips left there will appear in a listing and still never reach the browser. Use ls -la in the real document root so you can see index.php, any leftover index.html, and the hidden files that control rewrites.

Index files, permissions, and a quick checklist

If both index.html and index.php exist, PHP usually wins unless DirectoryIndex is set differently. A leftover parked page can hide a fresh WordPress install until you remove or rename it. Keep directories at 755 and files at 644. Do not use 777; the PHP user on CloudLinux already owns the account files.

1. Confirm the hostname under cPanel → Domains and note the document root shown there.
2. Open that exact folder in File Manager with hidden files enabled, or cd into it over SSH.
3. Place the application so the front controller lives at / for that hostname, not in a temporary subdirectory.
4. Load the site in a browser and confirm LiteSpeed is serving the files you just changed.

Putting files in the correct document root is separate from DNS. Nameserver and TTL changes do not move folders for you, so fix the path first and then worry about propagation.