When should I contact my hosting provider for a 403 Forbidden error, and what information should I provide to them?

You should contact your hosting provider if you've exhausted all common troubleshooting steps (client-side fixes, checking file permissions, .htaccess, and basic server logs) and the 403 error persists. When contacting them, provide as much detail as possible: the exact URL generating the 403 error, the specific time the error occurred, any error messages you received, the steps you've already taken to try and fix it, and any recent changes made to your website or hosting environment. This information will help them diagnose the issue more quickly, especially if it's related to server-level configurations or hidden security settings.