How to upload an HTML file to Hostinger, and what its builder takes

Hostinger sells two things that get confused. Web hosting gives you a folder on a server, and an HTML file you put there is a web page. Hostinger AI Builder is a site editor: its manual mode was called Hostinger Website Builder until August 2026, and it builds pages from its own blocks. Your HTML file goes into the first, not the second.

Every Hostinger fact below comes from Hostinger's help center, its pricing page, and its product pages, read on November 15, 2026. Hostinger's help center now calls its control panel "the Hostinger dashboard"; it is the panel at hpanel.hostinger.com that older tutorials and Hostinger's own hosting page call hPanel. We didn't test these steps on a Hostinger account, so a label on yours may differ. Prices are in US dollars, as Hostinger's page showed them that day during a sale.

Hostinger hosting, its builder, Convika, and Netlify Drop

Upload an HTML file to Hostinger in 5 steps

These steps are from Hostinger's help center. They need a web, cloud, or Agency hosting plan: Hostinger says File Manager is available on those "for websites built with custom PHP/HTML, Node.js, or CMS platforms like WordPress."

1. Add a Custom PHP/HTML website

Open the Hostinger dashboard and go to Websites. On your hosting plan, choose Create site, then Custom PHP/HTML website: "Use this option to upload custom code". Enter a domain you own, a subdomain, or continue with a temporary domain. Then select Upload website files to upload now, or Start empty to add the files later.

2. Open File Manager

In Websites, hover over the website and click Manage site. Search for File Manager on the left sidebar and click it. It opens in your website's folder.

3. Open public_html and upload

Open the public_html folder. Click Upload and choose Upload files, then drag the file into the window or click Choose files. For a page with its own style.css, script.js, and images, choose Upload folder: "The folder is uploaded with all its contents." If a file with the same name exists, select Keep both or Replace and click Continue.

4. Or upload a zip and extract it

Upload a .zip of the site the same way, then right-click it and select Extract here. Hostinger: "The files are unpacked into the same folder as the archive and go live right away". File Manager extracts .zip and .tar archives, "but not .rar files".

5. Open your domain

Uploads apply right away. Hostinger's File Manager guide puts "Uploads, new folders, copies, moves, extracting and creating archives" under Applies right away. Only edits you make in its editor wait: "Edits to files in Hostinger File Manager stay pending until you click Deploy." Open your domain in a browser. If you just pointed the domain at Hostinger, its upload tutorial says "DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate worldwide."

By FTP instead. Hostinger's backup guide names three ways to put files on a plan: "File Manager, an FTP client, or SSH". It recommends an FTP client "if you want to upload several files, or large archives exceeding 100 GB". The destination is the same public_html folder.

index.html and the default page

The file that opens at your bare domain is the index file in public_html. Hostinger's help center: "A website at Hostinger shows an "Index of /" listing when its root folder (public_html) has no index.php or index.html file." The name "can be either index.html, index.htm, or index.php."

• Name the home page index.html. A file called landing.html or my-page (2).html doesn't open at the bare domain.
• Keep it at the top of public_html. Hostinger's upload tutorial: "In some cases, an additional directory will be created when you upload website files. As a result, visitors will be directed to yourdomain.com/subfolder instead of the default yourdomain.com." Its fix is to right-click the subfolder, select Move, and set public_html as the destination.
• An "Index of /" listing means there is no index file. Add one, or turn the listing off: go to Websites, Manage site, search for Folder Index Manager, enter the public_html folder, choose No index, and click Add.

Hostinger doesn't say which file wins when public_html holds both an index.php and an index.html. If an old page still shows after your upload, Hostinger's advice is to "clear your browser cache or open the website in an incognito window".

Website Builder and custom code

Hostinger's help center, in an article updated 6 days before we read it: "Manual mode was previously Hostinger Website Builder, and agentic mode was previously Hostinger Horizons. Both products became Hostinger AI Builder in August 2026".

Manual mode doesn't take an HTML file as a page:

• No File Manager. "File Manager is not available for the Hostinger AI Builder. Instead, use the Media Library."
• The Media Library refuses HTML. Its list of unsupported file types includes .HTM, .HTML, along with .JS, .PHP, and .ZIP.
• There is no import. Hostinger's pages on manual mode describe templates, an AI generator, and a drag-and-drop editor. None describes importing an HTML file.

What it does take is code inside a page it builds:

• An embed code element. "This is the code that goes to the <body> of your website." Open the Add elements panel, drag the embed code element onto the page, click Enter code, insert the code, and click Embed code. Then update the website. Hostinger warns about "Error: embed code is too large", caused by an image pasted in as data:image…: "The Builder doesn't support this format".
• Custom code under Integrations. Go to More (⋯), then Integrations, and paste into the Custom code field. Hostinger places each snippet by its tag: "<meta>, <link>, and <style> tags go to <head>, while <script>, <noscript>, and <iframe> tags go to the end of <body>."

Hostinger doesn't say what the embed element does with a whole page's <html>, <head>, and <body> tags. For a full HTML page, use a Custom PHP/HTML website on the same hosting plan, or link to the page on another host. A Convika page can't be shown in an <iframe> on another site, so from a builder page, link to it with a button.

Landing pages on Hostinger

Hostinger offers three routes to a landing page.

• AI Builder, manual mode. Hostinger lists it as "Best for: Portfolios, blogs, company websites, landing pages, and online stores." Its landing page builder page says: "Create a landing page with AI – you will simply need to answer three questions. Or, pick from 900 designer-made and mobile-friendly templates." For a one-page launch, its help center says "you may publish the homepage only and hide the rest of the pages from the navigation menu", and adds that hidden pages "can still be accessed via their URLs".
• AI Builder, agentic mode. A prompt-based mode "where AI generates code to build functional web applications". It "Requires a separate credit-based subscription (such as Explorer, Starter, Hobbyist, or Hustler plans) and an active hosting plan to publish." Its exported code is "a Node.js project built with React and Vite", not a single HTML file.
• Your own HTML on web hosting. A landing page you already have as an HTML file, from ChatGPT, Claude, or a designer, goes in public_html with the 5 steps above.

Forms differ by route. In manual mode, a contact form element sends a notification to your email, and the builder lists the submissions, which you can "export selected forms to a .CSV file". For an HTML file you upload to public_html, Hostinger's pages read for this comparison don't describe a form service, so the form in your file needs somewhere to send its entries.

What Hostinger costs

Hostinger's help center: "Hostinger has no free hosting tier, but you can try services like Hostinger AI Builder with free trials or a 30-day money-back guarantee."

Its pricing page on November 15, 2026, under a banner reading "Biggest deals of the year", showed the 48-month term:

• You pay the whole term at once. "All plans are paid upfront. The monthly rate reflects the total plan price divided by the number of months in your plan."
• Shorter terms. The page as we read it showed only the 48-month prices, so this comparison doesn't give a monthly or yearly term's price.
• The domain. Each plan lists "Domain - free for 1 year". Hostinger's pricing page doesn't state the domain's price after that year in the part we read.
• The trial and the refund. Hostinger's website builder page offers "a 14-day free trial", and "Once you're ready to publish your website, you'll need to choose one of our paid plans". New web hosting purchases "are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee"; domain registrations aren't.

When you only need one page live

A hosting plan is a lot for one HTML file: a 48-month term, a server folder, and a file manager. If the page has no server code, a static host puts it online without any of that.

Convika serves one .html or .htm file up to 2 MB, or pasted code, at a lasting link. Drop a folder or a .zip and the upload box puts the CSS, JavaScript, images, and fonts the HTML names inside the page. It runs no server code: no PHP, no Node, no database of your own. A site with PHP, WordPress, or several pages belongs on hosting like Hostinger's.

1. Drop the file into the upload box at the top of this page and click Get my preview link. The link works for 3 minutes, without an account, with scripts and forms off.
2. Click Keep this page — free, no card and sign up.
3. Click Publish page, choose Public, and click Next. The first time, click Publish free. The page goes live at an address like yourpage.convika.page, with a small Convika bar at the bottom.

Free includes 1 published page, 10,000 page views a month, and 1 custom subdomain. Pro, at $12 a month, removes the bar and adds private links and passwords. To keep a Hostinger site and add one page beside it, publish the page on Convika and connect a subdomain such as go.yourdomain.com; the custom domain guide has the DNS records. Free HTML hosting compared covers 11 hosts for one file.

Frequently asked questions

How do I upload an HTML file to Hostinger?

Add a Custom PHP/HTML website to your hosting plan, open File Manager from Manage site, open the public_html folder, and click Upload, then Upload files. Name the home page index.html. Uploads apply right away, with no Deploy step.

Where do I put index.html on Hostinger?

At the top of the public_html folder. Hostinger's help center says a site shows an "Index of /" listing when public_html has no index.php or index.html, and its tutorial says files left in a subfolder open at yourdomain.com/subfolder instead of the bare domain.

Can I upload HTML to Hostinger Website Builder?

No. The builder, now Hostinger AI Builder's manual mode, has no File Manager, and its Media Library lists .HTM and .HTML as unsupported file types. You can paste code into an embed code element, which puts it in the page's <body>, or add a Custom PHP/HTML website on the same hosting plan and upload the file there.

Does Hostinger have a landing page builder?

Yes. Hostinger AI Builder's manual mode makes landing pages from a prompt or from templates, with a drag-and-drop editor, and its help center describes publishing the homepage alone while other pages stay hidden. It comes with most web and cloud hosting plans. Publishing needs a paid plan.

Is Hostinger hosting free?

No. Hostinger's help center says it "has no free hosting tier". It offers a 14-day free trial of its website builder and a 30-day money-back guarantee on new hosting purchases. On November 15, 2026, the lowest web hosting price shown was $1.99 a month for 48 months, $95.52 paid upfront.

How much does Hostinger cost after the first term?

Hostinger's pricing page states it under each plan. On November 15, 2026: Premium "Renews at $10.99/mo for the same term", Unlimited at $16.99, and Cloud Startup at $25.99. The first term's price was $1.99, $2.79, and $7.99 a month, paid upfront for 48 months.

Can I host a single HTML page without buying hosting?

Yes. A static host serves one HTML page free. On Convika, drop the file in the upload box, sign up to keep it, and click Publish page; Free includes 1 published page and 10,000 page views a month. Netlify Drop takes a folder or a zip on its Free plan's 300 credits a month.

Sources

Each page was read on November 15, 2026. Hostinger's help articles show a relative date, given here as the page showed it that day.

• Hostinger help center: How to use the Hostinger File Manager (updated 5 days ago), How to add a website in Hostinger (3 days ago), How to upload backups with file manager (1 week ago), How to upload backups at Hostinger (1 week ago), How to extract archives using the file manager (1 week ago), What to do when a website shows "Index of /" (1 week ago), How to try Hostinger services for free (4 days ago)
• Hostinger AI Builder help: Differences between manual mode and agentic mode (6 days ago), How to embed custom code in manual mode (2 weeks ago), How to integrate custom code in manual mode (2 weeks ago), How to upload files in manual mode (2 weeks ago), How to create a landing page in manual mode (2 weeks ago), How to add and manage contact forms in manual mode (2 weeks ago), How to connect a domain in manual mode (3 days ago), How to export code in agentic mode (2 weeks ago), Hostinger AI Builder and other content management systems (2 weeks ago)
• Hostinger product pages (no date on the pages): pricing, web hosting, website builder, landing page builder
• Hostinger tutorial: How to upload your website (published November 19, 2019)
• Netlify: Netlify Drop quickstart (last updated July 28, 2026), pricing (no date on the page), How credits work (last updated August 12, 2026)
• Convika: the code that runs the upload box and the Free plan, and the pricing page