Problems viewing index.php

you can’t expect both index.html and index.php to work simultaneously.
index.html always takes precedence.
you will need to rename or delete the index.html to get wordpress’ index.php to work

or you can move wp to a folder and link to it from your index.html

Hey thanks for getting back to me Samboll. Does that mean I should really move wordpress to a test folder while I get it all working, then move it to my main directory when it’s ready to go live. My problem is that index.html is my site’s holding page so if I get rid of it everyone will be able to see me testing my site as I build it as index.php will become the home page.

yes that would be a good way to go – just move it to a test folder
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Moving_WordPress#Moving_WordPress_Within_Your_Site

then when ready – use same instructions to put it back

or you may like this option when moving back
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Giving_WordPress_Its_Own_Directory

That’s awesome Samboll, many thanks for all your help.