Htaccess is short for Hypertext Access. It is an access configuration file used by Apache-based web servers.
Most of the cheap / shared web hosts out there have Apache-based web servers. A file called .htaccess when put into the main directory where your website sits - usually
You can use Htaccess to protect some pages with a password, create a custom 404 error page or most commonly, redirect a route to another page.
This achieves the same result but gives you more control over conditions and the type of redirect (R=301 indicates a permanent redirect). See HTTP status codes for more. You already know what 404 is
This internally redirects
This directive instructs Apache to disable directory browsing (listing the contents of a directory) for the directory and its subdirectories.
before finally switching to my own root server with specialized Apache and Cloudflare configurations.
Most of the cheap / shared web hosts out there have Apache-based web servers. A file called .htaccess when put into the main directory where your website sits - usually
htdocs or public_html - grants you ability to configure redirection, evade website-access issues, do URL shortening and more. The 'dot' before the file name apparently makes it a hidden file in Unix-based systems. As a JavaScript programmer I use files that start with dots for files that are for the local environment or variable files for development.You can use Htaccess to protect some pages with a password, create a custom 404 error page or most commonly, redirect a route to another page.
Simple Redirect Example with Redirect Directive:
Redirect /old-page.html http://example.com/new-page.htmlRedirect with RewriteRule Directive:
Code:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^old-page\.html$ http://example.com/new-page.html [R=301,L]This achieves the same result but gives you more control over conditions and the type of redirect (R=301 indicates a permanent redirect). See HTTP status codes for more. You already know what 404 is
How to Redirect Without Changing the URL?
If you want to internally rewrite URLs without changing what the user sees in their browser's address bar, you can use RewriteRule with the [P] flag (Proxy) or [L] flag (Last).
Code:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^internal-url$ /actual-page.html [L]This internally redirects
/internal-url to /actual-page.html without changing the URL in the browser.Use .htaccess to redirect HTTP to HTTPS
Code:
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off checks if HTTPS is not already on.RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] redirects the request to https:// version of the same URL (%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI}), with a 301 status code (permanent redirect) and [L] ensures it's the last rule processed for this request. You can chain multiple rules in the same file. Dynamic variables are used for those routes.Prevent Directory Listing
Options -IndexesThis directive instructs Apache to disable directory browsing (listing the contents of a directory) for the directory and its subdirectories.
Other Uses of .htaccess:
.htaccess files can do much more than just redirects:- Authentication and Authorization: Restrict access to certain files or directories.
- Custom Error Pages: Show custom error pages for different HTTP status codes.
- Cache Control: Control browser caching for your site's resources.
- URL Rewriting: Change URLs dynamically, improving SEO or user experience.
- Security Enhancements: Block specific IP addresses, prevent directory listing, etc.
- Performance Optimization: Enable gzip compression, set caching rules, etc.
.htaccess for before finally switching to my own root server with specialized Apache and Cloudflare configurations.
