HostGator and .htaccess…

When it comes to running simple cron commands on your HostGator hosting account, you’ll need to place a .htaccess file in the cgi-bin of each account.

This .htaccess file must be placed in the public_html directory of each website hosted on a shared hosting package.

If you have a reseller account, you only need to put it in the main cgi-bin. This will then eliminate your need to duplicate the file for each individual public_html directory.

Editing your .htaccess File…

Here are the commands to place inside your .htaccess file if you are using HostGator:


order deny,allow
deny from all
allow from all


order deny,allow
deny from all


Step-by-Step Screen Shots: Setting up Cron

Here are some screenshots to assist in setting up cron on HOSGATOR HOSTING accounts.

NOTE: You may click on the below images to view larger screen shots.

1. From CPANEL Homepage:

2. Cron Jobs page:

3. Set 1. Email address, 2. Put command cron command we provide, and 3. Set the schedule.

4. Done

The Cron Code

The following commands seem to work with HostGator and my plugins…


php /home/yourfolder/public_html/yoursite.com/index.php
action=cl_cron cron_code=0123456


php -q /home/yourfolder/public_html/yoursite.com/index.php
action=cl_cron cron_code=0123456

…where “yourfolder” = your sites folder and where “0123456″ is your cron code found in the ‘Options’ tab of the relevant plugin (ie., WP Scraper or WP Feeder, etc)…

Additional questions? Email support for more help.

I believe we should have something worked out by the end of this week but it is too early to tell. Needless to say, we have setup test sites on both hosts and are troubleshooting.

On that note, it is also important to note that only about 3-5% of hosts are showing any signs of problems, so this is not a major concern for most people. But, for those few who are having problems, we are looking for a solution.

Along with scraping problems on these hosts, there may also be other issues as well, such as cron support for our plugins. I will make a post about each hosting providers cron requirements, which should help a lot.