Greetings to everyone.
Could someone kindly explain why my site won't load after uploading it to hosting? The site is fully functional on the local server, but once I upload all the files to hosting and click on the link, I'm met with an empty page without any error messages. The site is built using php, and this is my first project in this language, so I'm currently learning and practicing.
I strongly believe that this is where the problem lies and would greatly appreciate any constructive help in finding a solution.
Here's the structure of index.php:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<?php
$title = "BBR - Big Battle Robot";
include_once "/tmpl/header.php";
?>
</head>
<body>
<?php
require_once "/tmpl/menu.php";
require_once "/tmpl/body.php";
require_once "/tmpl/footer.php";
?>
</body>
</html>
Errors are not displayed on the browser when on hosting, which means that errors do exist, but they just aren't being shown.
1) Check the logs.
2) During the setup phase, turn on error reporting (E_ALL) and display error output. You can simply add the first few lines of code in the index.
ini_set('error_reporting', E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', 1);
3) It's also recommended to enable the display of warnings and errors on the local server if it's not already enabled. Doing so can help prevent many problems when transferring to hosting.
There are several technical aspects to consider when diagnosing why your site isn't loading properly on the hosting server.
Firstly, establishing whether the hosting environment supports the version of PHP you used during development is essential. You can verify this by creating a simple PHP file containing the following code:
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
Upload this file to your hosting environment and access it through a web browser. This will provide comprehensive information about the PHP configuration on the server, including the PHP version and other important settings.
Another critical factor to investigate is the file paths within your PHP code. When you moved your site to the hosting server, the paths to your files may have changed. It's vital to ensure that all include and require statements reference the correct file paths in the hosting environment. Discrepancies in file paths between the local server and the hosting environment can lead to errors and prevent your site from loading as expected.
In your specific case, the issue may be related to the file paths in your index.php file. When you uploaded your site to the hosting environment, the file paths specified in your PHP code may no longer be accurate. For example, if the "tmpl" directory is located in the root directory of your project, your include statements should be modified to reflect this change.
To address this, consider modifying your PHP code to utilize paths relative to the root directory of your project:
include_once $_SERVER['dоcument_ROOT'] . "/tmpl/header.php";
require_once $_SERVER['dоcument_ROOT'] . "/tmpl/menu.php";
require_once $_SERVER['dоcument_ROOT'] . "/tmpl/body.php";
require_once $_SERVER['dоcument_ROOT'] . "/tmpl/footer.php";
By using $_SERVER['dоcument_ROOT'], you're referencing the root directory of your project, ensuring that your file paths remain consistent across different server environments.
Additionally, it's essential to review the error logs on your hosting server. If PHP encounters an error while processing your index.php file, it may fail to render any content, resulting in the appearance of an empty page without any error messages. Access your hosting account and locate the error logs to identify any potential issues with your code.
By monitoring error logs, adjusting file paths, and confirming PHP compatibility, you can comprehensively address the issues preventing your site from loading correctly on the hosting server. Troubleshooting and debugging are integral parts of the development process, especially when learning and practicing a new language like PHP. These efforts will contribute to a deeper understanding of web development and the successful deployment of your projects.