Summary
The public_html directory for all of its Web site files. Addon domains use sub directories inside the public_html directory. In order to also set up your main domain to use a subdirectory on your hosting account you will need to set up a redirect in the .htaccess file in the public_html folder so that the server knows that any request for your main domain will be redirected to a subdirectory on public_html.Locating the .htaccess file in the file manager
To begin you will need to open the .htaccess file located in your public_html folder. Because this file is, by default, not visible, please follow the instructions below to locate and open this file.
- Log in to the Bluehost cPanel.
- Scroll down to the Files section.
- Click the File
- Manager icon.
- Check the View Hidden Files checkbox.
- You are working with your primary domain, so select the WebRoot (public_html/www) option.
- Right click the .htaccess and choose Code Editor.
Modifying the .htaccess
The following code will need to be added to the .htaccess file in the public_html folder of your hosting account. You will need to insert the following code block and make modifications as noted in the (#) comments.
You will need to change the two instances of example.com to your domain, and the three instances of subdirectory to the folder where you want your site.
# HostSect.in
# .htaccess main domain to subdirectory redirect
# Do not change this line.
RewriteEngine on
# Change example.com to be your main domain.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?example.com$
# Change 'subdirectory' to be the directory you will use for your main domain.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/subdirectory/
# Don't change the following two lines.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
# Change 'subdirectory' to be the directory you will use for your main domain.
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subdirectory/$1
# Change example.com to be your main domain again.
# Change 'subdirectory' to be the directory you will use for your main domain
# followed by / then the main file for your site, index.php, index.html, etc.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?example.com$
RewriteRule ^(/)?$ subdirectory/index.html [L]
Visitors to your Web site will not be able to tell that your main domain is using a subdirectory, they will still see the Web site address as http://www.example.com/page.html.
Please note that this will not work with some website software. You may also need to modify the $base_url, $live_site or other configuration settings to finish the process.
