How To SEO .htaccess Code

The htaccess file is a configuration file used in web servers, primarily the Apache server, to control and modify the behavior of a server and browser interactions. The name “htaccess” stands for “hypertext access,” and it allows webmasters to exert fine-grained control over various aspects of their site’s functionality.

Video Tutorial Showing How To SEO .htaccess Code

RankYa Search Engine Optimization Tip for 2024 each line in .htaccess file is processes and rules calculated, therefore, remove all comments (anything after the # hashtag is a comment). Ensure that each line of optimization code is there to improve the web page loading and security (meaning, do not just keep adding code without understanding what the code does).

Common Uses of .htaccess File

This file contains a series of directives written in a specific syntax. Directive within .htaccess file instruct the server on how to handle requests, control access to files and or directories, set environment variables, control caching, and even perform URL redirections and rewriting.

Common uses of the .htaccess file include setting up password protection for specific directories, defining custom error pages, restricting access based on IP addresses, and managing URL rewriting for search engine optimization purposes.

The .htaccess file is a powerful tool, when used correctly can enable webmasters to make configuration changes without needing access to the server’s main configuration file (mainly httpd.conf). This flexibility is especially useful for shared hosting environments or situations where access to server-level configuration files is restricted. However, improper use of the .htaccess file can lead to server misconfigurations or security vulnerabilities, so it’s important to handle it with care and follow best optimization practices.

Optimizing .htaccess Code

Since most websites are built needing different approaches, below we’ll share with you general purpose optimization techniques that most websites built on Apache can use:

Group Modules

Use it for Caching & Header Response

#EXPIRES #max-age=31536000 1 year #max-age=15552000 6 months #max-age=7776000 3 months <IfModule mod_expires.c> ExpiresActive On ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 seconds" ExpiresByType text/html "access plus 1 seconds" ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access plus 31536000 seconds" ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 31536000 seconds" ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 15552000 seconds" ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 15552000 seconds" ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 15552000 seconds" ExpiresByType text/javascript "access plus 15552000 seconds" </IfModule> #HEADERS for Caching and Security <IfModule mod_headers.c> #NOTICE you first SET header response then you can ADD to that set # informs browsers that the website should only be accessed using HTTPS including SubDomains Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload" env=HTTPS # informs browsers that any http requests should be served upgraded including mixed content issues Header add Content-Security-Policy "upgrade-insecure-requests; block-all-mixed-content;" # specifies origins that are allowed to see values of attributes retrieved via features of the Resource Timing API use of * regular expression denotes ALL Header add Timing-Allow-Origin "*" #Use with Caution. Gives a hint to the browser to perform a DNS lookup in the background Header add X-DNS-Prefetch-Control "on" #is the default Referrer-Policy for 2024 Header add Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" Header add X-Frame-Options "sameorigin" Header add X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" Header add X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" #The ETag (or entity tag) HTTP response header is an identifier for a specific VERSION of a resource used for cache management. Header unset ETag <FilesMatch "\.(css|ico|png|jpe?g|gif|webp|pdf|gz|js)$"> Header set Cache-Control "max-age=15552000, public" #1 year Header set Cache-Control "max-age=31536000, public" </FilesMatch> </IfModule> #because you have unset ETag above FileETag None #The FileETag directive configures 'File Attributes' (file inode, modification time, file size etc.) that are used to create the ETag response header field. #REWRITE RULES for Better Security <IfModule mod_rewrite.c> RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} http\:\/\/www\.google\.com\/humans\.txt\? [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (img|thumb|thumb_editor|thumbopen).php [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} base64_encode[^(]*\([^)]*\) [OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (<|%3C)([^s]*s)+cript.*(>|%3E) [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} GLOBALS(=|\[|\%[0-9A-Z]{0,2}) [OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} _REQUEST(=|\[|\%[0-9A-Z]{0,2}) RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (;|'|"|%22).*(union|select|insert|drop|update|md5|benchmark|or|and|if) [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (localhost|mosconfig) [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (boot.ini|echo.*kae|etc/passwd) [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (javascript:).*(;) [NC,OR] RewriteRule .* index.php [F] </IfModule>

# Compress HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Text, XML and fonts using mod_deflate if web hosting is setup to use this module <IfModule mod_deflate.c> #javascript AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascript AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript #fonts AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/vnd.ms-fontobject AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-font AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-font-opentype AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-font-otf AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-font-truetype AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-font-ttf AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE font/opentype AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE font/otf AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE font/ttf #xml AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml #svg and ico AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE image/svg+xml AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE image/x-icon #text AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml </IfModule> For websites built on Windows IIS server, and you want similar configuration files, see how to translate htaccess directives for Windows IIS web.configLinks to Each Lesson (includes video sessions)