The .htaccess file enables developers to tweak server configurations without accessing and modifying the primary server configuration files. This flexibility allows developers to make adjustments on the go, improving security and boosting the user experience. But before we explore its uses, let’s learn a bit more about what .htaccess is.
The term .htaccess is short for Hypertext Access. A .htaccess file is used for an Apache web server to make configuration changes to the details of a website without altering the server configuration files. The period (.) at the beginning of the file indicates that it is hidden within the folder. You can use it to load customized error pages, implement password-protected authentication for certain directories on the service, create URL redirects, and more.
A .htaccess file is placed within a directory on the web server. It is commonly placed in a site’s root directory (e.g. /public_html). This helps configure the web server for the whole website. In some cases, the .htaccess files are placed in a sub-directory for certain uses.
Like any other Apache configuration file, a .htaccess file is also read from top to bottom. In other words, the configurations at the top will be executed first, followed by the ones at the bottom. Pay close attention to the order of your rules to make sure that everything is functioning correctly and efficiently.
If you are new to this thing, you should know several key points about .htaccess. Here are the answers to some of your questions:
You can find your .htaccess file on cPanel using the steps listed below:
You need to create one if you do not find the file there.
Follow the same steps to reach the “public_html” folder. Then, you can create a new .htaccess file using the following steps:
Once the .htaccess file is created, you will have to add code to it.
You can rewrite URLs on the go using the “mod_rewrite” directive. Map a URL to another URL or a path on the file system.
You can create a password file called “.htpasswd” to authenticate users. You need to use the “Require” directive to get the authorization part of the process.
You can redirect a directory to another directory, a URL to another URL, a directory to an HTML file, and more using the “Redirect” directory.
With a .htaccess file, you can define a custom error page for every HTTP error code produced by your server.
You can protect your sensitive directories with a password. You can achieve that by generating a .htpasswd file. You can also use the RewriteRule directive in your .htaccess file to block bots from sending unwanted traffic to your website.
You can instruct browsers to cache certain files using the “mod_expires” directive.
You can also use a specific .htaccess code “AddType text/html .html .htm” to add a MIME type, where “text/html” is the MIME type.
Hotlinking can be detrimental to your website’s performance as others consume your bandwidth. You can easily prevent hotlinking using .htaccess.
You can use two different mods – “mod_gzip” and “mode_deflate” – to enable GZIP compression.
You can use the “RewriteBase” directive in the .htaccess file to specify the base URL to rewrite rules.
As you can see, the .htaccess file simplifies the entire process of managing and configuring a website. However, you need to learn the specific commands and codes to perform the right configurations.