Common Mistakes I See Students Make

By Ravindra Bagale Last updated: 25 September 2026

Uploading files to the home folder and forgetting to copy them into the document root.
Using mv from the home folder on CentOS → files keep the wrong SELinux label → 403. Run restorecon -Rv.
Naming the file Index.html or index.htm when the config expects index.html.
Leaving the Ubuntu default site enabled, so the welcome page keeps appearing.
Wrong root path — a missing or extra folder level (e.g. /var/www/mysite/mysite).
Not opening port 80 in the security group, or typing https:// without a certificate.
Uploading with Windows tools into a root-owned folder and getting Permission denied — upload to home, then sudo cp.