Abu Zar Mishwani
Your website’s .htaccess file actually plays a big role in its SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Yep, it’s true! And its impact on your site’s ranking can be pretty huge.
Guess what I discovered? The .htaccess file is like a superpower in the technical SEO toolbox! It’s incredibly impactful, but its main focus is technical SEO.
Most people overlook its impact, but a well-crafted .htaccess file can do wonders for your website! It helps search engines index and crawl your site better, resolves ranking conflicts, speeds up page loading, and has many other cool benefits!
In this article, we’ll discuss the .htaccess file, its uses, and how it can impact your website performance and SEO.
What is .htaccess?
The .htaccess file, short for ‘hypertext access,’ is a configuration file that works on a specific server folder. It only affects the folder it’s placed in, allowing you to customize server settings for that particular directory.
The .htaccess file helps you control how your website works in specific folders. You can use it to set rules for the main website folder or other folders like /images or /downloads. It’s like giving each folder its own unique instructions for how to behave.
The .htaccess file works on the Apache web server and other servers like LiteSpeed.
How Does .htaccess Work?
The .htaccess file is like a special instruction book for a folder on the web server. When someone visits that folder, the server follows the instructions in the .htaccess file to know how to handle the request.
Usually, we put the .htaccess file in the main website folder, and it affects the whole website. Sometimes, we put it in sub-folders for specific tasks, though that’s not as common.
In the .htaccess file, the order of rules matters. The ones at the top are followed first, and then the rest are read in order. So, arranging the rules correctly is essential to ensure they work properly and make your website run efficiently.
Note: The .htaccess file is powerful but sensitive. Making a mistake while editing can mess up your server settings and cause your website to stop working. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, it’s best to get help from a web developer. If you want to try it yourself, be cautious, make backups of the original .htaccess file, and proceed step by step.
How To Locate .htaccess?
The web server software, Apache, hides files named .htaccess because they contain important settings and can be used by hackers to harm the server.
You can access the .htaccess file through various methods:
- Using File Manager in cPanel or similar control panels: If your web hosting provider offers cPanel or a similar control panel, you can log in to your account, navigate to the File Manager, and find the .htaccess file in the
public_htmlfolder.
- Using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) clients: FTP clients like FileZilla allow you to connect to your web server and browse the files, including the hidden .htaccess file, in the
public_htmldirectory.
- SSH (Secure Shell) access: If you have SSH access to your server, you can use terminal commands to navigate to the
public_htmlfolder and view/edit the .htaccess file.
In cPanel, you can unhide the .htaccess file by doing the following:
- Log in to cPanel: Enter your username and password to access your web hosting control panel.
- File Manager: Locate and click on the “File Manager” icon. This will open the file management tool for your hosting account.
- Navigate to the public_html folder: You’ll see a list of files and folders in the file manager. Find and click on the
public_htmlfolder. This is the root directory of your website.
- Show hidden files: By default, hidden files (like .htaccess) are not shown. To unhide them, click on the “Settings” or “Gear” icon (usually found in the top-right corner of the file manager).
- Check “Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)”: In the settings window, enable the option that says “Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)” or something similar. Save the settings.
- Unhide .htaccess: Once you’ve enabled the option to show hidden files, you should see the .htaccess file listed in the
public_htmlfolder. You can now access, view, and edit it like any other file.
Common Uses of .htaccess File
The .htaccess file can do various helpful things for your website. Some common examples are:
- Redirections: You can use .htaccess to redirect specific URLs to different pages. For example, if you change the URL structure of your site, you can set up redirects to ensure visitors reach the correct pages. Like redirecting
example.com/old-pagetoexample.com/new-page.
- Custom Error Pages: With .htaccess, you can create custom error pages, like the famous “404 Not Found” page. This way, when visitors encounter errors, they see helpful messages designed by you, making the site look more professional.
- Forcing HTTPS: .htaccess allows you to enforce the use of HTTPS (secure connection) for your website. This ensures all data exchanged between the user’s browser and your server remains encrypted and secure. For example, making
http://example.comautomatically load ashttps://example.com.
- Password Protection: You can use .htaccess to protect certain directories on your server with passwords. Only users with the correct login credentials will be allowed to access the content within those directories.
- Preventing Hotlinking: Hotlinking is when another website displays images or files hosted on your server, stealing your bandwidth.
.htaccesscan be used to block hotlinking, ensuring that only your own website can display the content hosted on your server.
Using Multiple .htaccess Files
You can customize settings for different directories on your server by using multiple .htaccess files. To create one, simply make a plain text file with the name .htaccess and upload it to the desired directory.
Remember these things:
1. Keep the number of .htaccess files to a minimum to avoid slowing down your server.
2. When your server finds a .htaccess file in a directory, it also checks for .htaccess files in its parent directories, which can use more server resources.
3. .htaccess files in higher-level directories take priority over those in lower directories.
How To Edit .htaccess File?
To edit your .htaccess file, follow these steps:
- Access your files: You can edit the .htaccess file using various methods, such as cPanel’s File Manager, an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla), or through SSH access.
- Backup the file: Before making any changes, creating a backup of your current .htaccess file is crucial. This ensures you can revert to the original if anything goes wrong.
- Locate the .htaccess file: The .htaccess file is typically found in the root directory of your website, often named
public_htmlorwww. If you want to edit a specific directory’s .htaccess file, navigate to that directory.
- Edit the file: Right-click on the .htaccess file and select “Edit” if using cPanel or an FTP client. If using SSH, you can modify the file with a text editor like nano or vi. You can also download the file, edit it on your local computer using a plain text editor (e.g., Notepad), and then upload the modified version.
- Save changes: After making your desired changes, save the modified .htaccess file.
- Check for errors: Incorrect syntax or configurations in the .htaccess file can lead to errors on your website. Make sure to double-check your changes for accuracy.
- Test your website: After editing the .htaccess file, visit your website and test its functionality to ensure everything is working as intended.
Improve Your Website’s Technical SEO with .htaccess File
Let’s explore some essential techniques you can apply using .htaccess to enhance your website’s search engine visibility and overall performance.
Forceful Redirection from HTTP to HTTPS
Secure websites are favored by search engines and visitors alike. With .htaccess, you can automatically redirect all HTTP requests to their secure counterpart, HTTPS. This ensures that your users’ data remains encrypted and safe during transmission while also boosting your site’s SEO.
The .htaccess code to force HTTPS redirection:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
Redirecting from Non-WWW to WWW (or vice versa)
Consistent URLs (with or without the “www” prefix) help search engines understand your site’s structure. You can use .htaccess to redirect users to your preferred URL version.
To redirect from non-www to www:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
To redirect from www to non-www:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1/$1 [R=301,L]
In the above .htaccess code for non-www to www and vice versa redirection, you do not need to add your specific site URL or domain name in the code. The provided code is a generic Apache mod_rewrite configuration that uses regular expressions to handle URLs dynamically.
When you add this code to your .htaccess file, it will work for any domain hosted on the server where this configuration is applied.
Custom Error Pages
When visitors encounter errors on your website, showing them a generic error page can be frustrating. Instead, use .htaccess to serve custom error pages that match your website’s design and provide helpful information.
For example, to set up a custom 404 error page:
ErrorDocument 404 /404-error-page.html
Blocking Unauthorized Access
Enhance your website’s security using .htaccess to block access to specific directories or files. This prevents unauthorized users from viewing sensitive data.
To block access to a specific directory:
Options -Indexes
Adding “Options -Indexes” to your .htaccess file disables directory listing, preventing visitors from seeing a list of files and directories in that location.
Preventing Hotlinking
Hotlinking, where other websites directly link to your images and use your server’s bandwidth, can negatively impact your site’s performance. You can stop hotlinking using .htaccess.
For example, to prevent hotlinking for specific image extensions:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?example.com/ [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ - [NC,F,L]
When you add the above code to your .htaccess file, it will block other websites from directly linking to images (jpg, jpeg, png, gif) hosted on your site, except if the link is from your own domain (in this case, replace “example.com” with your actual domain name, like “techabu.co”).