Set up a new server and testing it prior to repointing domain so right now just using IP address. I was originally having issue accessing any pages but saw in a post in support that I could turn on the "Enable USER MOD DIR" settings and that is working to access html pages by http://ipaddress/~username/test.html but anytime I try a basic php page (nothing complicated just a single echo line) I get a 404 not found error. Worried their might be a problem with my php setup. Yes php is installed and that php file is in same folder as the working html file. I can even run the pages at command line through ssh. Is there some other way to enable accessing site by IP or a reason why php pages might not be working. Really hoping don't have to re-set up the server since it took like 5 times reinstalling the server from scratch because webuzo install kept failing after about an hour saying something like couldn't unzip webuzo.
Further investigation - I found that it really seems to be the handling of php files. I can take the same file and give it a nonsense extension like .pq and I can see the file just like it is normal html (any php in file just shows as source not executed) but if it is .php I get a 404 error. Give it php5 and it treats it as a file to download. .php8 (which php 8 is the only php version installed to be precise 8.2) and it shows it like html but again contains the unexectured php code. Seems like an apache issue but I am not fluent enough in apache to know what settings might be off. (apache 2.4 by the way)
FYi - php is working. I ended up pointing an unused subdomain of a personal site to the server and added it as an alias in webuzo. If I had direct control of that sites intended domain I would have used a subdomain of it. I am sure there would have been some sort of apache solution but for now my issue is solved.