Website logs help you connect a reported problem with the request that triggered it. An access log records requests that reached the web server. An error log records selected server or application failures, depending on the site's configuration.
Website logs remain in Virtualmin. Start from the Control Center's Hosting login, open Virtualmin, and select the domain you need to investigate. The dashboard's setup messages describe hosting actions and do not replace web-server logs.
Find the right entries #
- Record the affected URL, the time of the problem, and your time zone.
- Select the affected domain in Virtualmin.
- Open Logs and Reports. On Apache hosting, look for Apache Access Log and Apache Error Log. Hosting that uses another web server can show different labels.
- Reproduce the problem once if doing so is safe, then refresh the logs and find the matching time and path.
- Copy only the relevant lines into your private troubleshooting notes. Virtualmin website log guide
Interpret the result #
A 404 can identify a missing path, a 403 an access refusal, and a 500 an internal failure. These codes describe the response, not the complete cause. For a PHP failure, look for the associated error message, file, and line number. The exact application logging location depends on its configuration.
If the access log has no matching request, check whether the visitor reached another server, a CDN, or a different domain entry. A cache can also serve a response without a new request reaching your origin server. Absence from one log does not prove the visitor's report is wrong.
Verify the fix #
After changing one relevant setting, repeat the original action and compare the new result. Test affected internal pages as well as the home page. Keep the original error and the time of the change until the issue is resolved.
Share logs with care #
Remove passwords, authorization headers, private URL tokens, and unnecessary personal information before sending an excerpt. Include the domain, approximate time, visible error, and recent changes. Do not paste an entire access log into a public forum.
If logs are unavailable, ask support to review the request at the recorded time. Log retention and rotation vary by service, so report incidents promptly and do not delete active logs to clear storage.
Related: common website errors, cache behavior.
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