Learn how to use the .htaccess file

Learn how to use the .htaccess file

A quick and handy tutorial

December 2014 http://www.istogram.com 2

What is .htaccess ?

The .htaccess file is a configuration file for

web servers running the Apache Web

server software


What is .htaccess ?

Configuration is performed by .htaccess

on a per-directory basis


What is .htaccess ?

The dot before the filename means

that the file is hidden (in Unix-like

Operating Systems)


Use .htaccess for :

● URL rewriting (pretty URLs, easy to remember URLs, SEF URLs)


Use .htaccess for :

● URL redirects (site migrations, site upgrades, duplicate content)


Use .htaccess for :

● Basic authentication


Use .htaccess for :

● Security increase by blocking IP addresses


Use .htaccess for :

● Enabling gzip compression to optimize performance


Use .htaccess for :

● Creating custom error pages


Use .htaccess for :

● Hiding directory listings


Use .htaccess for :

● Enabling browser caching


How to make a .htaccess:

● Use any text editor (such as NotePad, UltraEdit, TextEdit, Vim)


Examples :

URL rewrite

RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^new_fancy\.html$ old_ugly.html

# This directive allows us to type # /new_fancy.html and get the file # /old_ugly.html


Examples :

URL redirect

REDIRECT DOMAIN.COM TO WWW.DOMAIN.COM

RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.domain.com$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [L,R=301]


Examples :

URL redirect

REDIRECT WWW.DOMAIN.COM TO DOMAIN.COM

RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^domain.com$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://domain.com/$1 [L,R=301]


Examples :

Simple URL redirect

Redirect 301 ôld\.html$ http://www.domain.com/new.html


Examples :

Enable gzip compression

<ifModule mod_gzip.c> mod_gzip_on Yes mod_gzip_dechunk Yes mod_gzip_item_include file \.(html?|txt|css|js|php|pl)$ mod_gzip_item_include handler ^cgi-script$ mod_gzip_item_include mime ^text/.* mod_gzip_item_include mime âpplication/x-javascript.* mod_gzip_item_exclude mime îmage/.* mod_gzip_item_exclude rspheader ^Content-Encoding:.*gzip.* </ifModule>


Examples :

Password protection

AuthName "Member's Area Name" AuthUserFile /path/to/password/file/.htpasswd AuthType Basic require valid-user

.htpasswd : username:encryptedpassword fred_smith:oCF9Pam/MXJg2

Note that the password must be encrypted!


Examples :

Custom error pages

ErrorDocument 401 /error_pages/401.html ErrorDocument 404 /error_pages/404.html ErrorDocument 500 /error_pages/500.html


Examples :

Deny visitors by IP address

order allow,deny deny from 255.0.0.0 deny from 123.45.6. allow from all

Users from the IP address '255.0.0.0' as well as from the IP range '123.45.6.1' to '123.45.6.255' will be blocked.


Examples :

Disable directory listings

IndexIgnore *

To prevent listing multiple file types :

IndexIgnore *.zip *.jpg *.gif


Examples :

Leverage browser caching

<IfModule mod_expires.c> ExpiresActive On ExpiresByType image/jpg "access 1 year" ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access 1 year" ExpiresByType image/gif "access 1 year" ExpiresByType image/png "access 1 year" ExpiresByType text/css "access 1 month" ExpiresByType text/html "access 1 month" ExpiresByType application/pdf "access 1 month" ExpiresByType text/x-javascript "access 1 month" ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash "access 1 month" ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access 1 year" ExpiresDefault "access 1 month" </IfModule>


Summary :

The .htaccess file can be a valuable tool for a

variety of tasks.

Learning how to use a .htaccess file is an

essential skill for any webmaster.


Thank you!

You may also visit our blog at :

http://www.istogram.com/en/blog.html

http://www.istogram.com/en/blog.html

Date post:	14-Jul-2015
Category:	Internet
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Learn how to use the .htaccess file

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