{"id":12484,"date":"2024-04-16T15:37:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T10:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/?p=12484"},"modified":"2024-08-19T13:27:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T07:57:56","slug":"wordpress-htaccess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wordpress-htaccess\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is WordPress htaccess? [+ How to Use and Edit It]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"justify\">WordPress offers unlimited options for both technical as well as non-technical users to explore all the corners of WordPress to manage. To squeeze out the maximum of your WordPress site, you need to learn about the backend processes. To figure out this, one of the most important steps is to understand what is the WordPress .htaccess file and how you can explore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">To run WordPress sites successfully, these websites completely rely on several vital core files, that are stored at the backend, in which WordPress .<strong>htaccess<\/strong> <strong>file<\/strong> is one of them. By default, this file performs certain tasks related to the permalinks. But you can also edit this file and make certain customizations such as setting up 301 for redirections and enhancing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wordpress-security-101-the-ultimate-wordpress-security-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4177\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website security<\/a> by Forcing HTTPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">So, in this post, you will be going to learn all about the WordPress .htaccess file and cover all the important topics related to it such as its complete meaning, and how you can access them. How can you edit them? And how can you use it to get the most out of it?<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group tip is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading myh2\">What is the WordPress htaccess?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">The WordPress .htaccess file is one of the most powerful and useful configuration files on your WordPress site. It is considered the most powerful configuration file that is responsible for controlling or managing the most vital configurations of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">These files consist of several rules or protocols for the Apache web server, that it needs to obey. You will find this file located either in the root directory of your website or the central directory. It is such a vital file that by default it is kept hidden in your root directory so that no one can get easy access to it to make changes without authorization.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group box is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading myh2\">What are the things you can do with the WordPress htaccess file?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">As we have already told you WordPress .htaccess files are one of the most important configuration files of a website, you can add some special rules that instruct your web server to perform special tasks. Let us check out what they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"justify\">\n<li><strong>Default tasks:<\/strong> By default, the WordPress htaccess files instruct web servers to manage and control your website&#8217;s permalink appearance. That means, that if you make any changes or edit your permalinks, the .htaccess file will also get updated with new rules and will instruct the webserver to follow. In addition to it, there are some WordPress plugins available that also use the .htaccess file to add their special rules and perform tasks. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Redirection<\/strong>: You can also set up redirection in the .htaccess file either permanent (301) or temporary (307). Even if you have recently added an SSL certificate, you can set up a redirect from HTTP to HTTPS in the .htaccess file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Beefup Security<\/strong>: You can restrict access to certain directories of your website by setting up a password in the .htaccess file and also ban or allow specific IP addresses to access your website admin page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enable hotlinking protection: <\/strong>You can also protect your website by preventing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/hotlinking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hotlinking<\/a> by adding some special rules and preventing other websites from utilizing your resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add custom error pages: With the help of the .htaccess file, you can also load custom-designed<\/strong> error pages such as error <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/error-404-not-found\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">404 page not found<\/a> page, to your website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group box is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading myh2\">Where is the WordPress htaccess file located?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">If your website uses an Apache web server, you can easily navigate, locate, and edit your WordPress .htaccess file by either connecting your website&#8217;s server with an FTP client or by accessing cPanel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">But before proceeding further, there are certain important points and safety measures you need to keep in mind. i.e. Accessing .htacces files can be risky. If anything goes wrong while editing the .htaccess files, the result can be catastrophic and you may either lose certain key functionalities of your website or in the worst case it can get completely damaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Hence, there are certain safety measures you need to follow so that you can eliminate the risk and prevent your site from being damaged:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"justify\">\n<li><strong>Make a complete backup of your website: <\/strong>Making <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/backup-wordpress-site\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regular backup of the <\/a>website should be included in your priority list so that if anything goes wrong with your website, you can immediately get things back on track without any fail.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Download a copy: <\/strong>You can also download the original WordPress .htaccess file and save it to your local computer. In case anything goes wrong, you can simply re-upload the original file and get things back like it was before the edits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Perform test on staging platform:<\/strong> There are certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/web-hosting-partner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">web hosting platforms like WPOven<\/a>, which offers an unlimited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/how-do-i-create-a-staging-test-site\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">staging platform<\/a> to perform tests before final publishing. Similarly, you can also make edits to your WordPress .htaccess file and run tests to see if it&#8217;s working before making it live and avoid risking your website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Now, to reach the exact location of your WordPress htacess file, you can follow the two given methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Locating the WordPress htaccess file using the FTP client<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">First of all, you will be required to have downloaded an FTP client such as FileZilla on your local computer and login credentials from your web host. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">At  <a href=\"https:\/\/app.wpoven.com\/users\/signup\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/app.wpoven.com\/users\/signup\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WPOven<\/a>, you can easily find your SFTP login credentials by following the easy steps below:<br><strong><u>Step 1<\/u><\/strong>: Open the \u201c<strong>Sites<\/strong>\u201d tab and choose the Site you want to know the details of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sites-Tab-WPOven-Dashboard.png\" alt=\"Sites Tab WPOven Dashboard\" class=\"wp-image-27311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sites-Tab-WPOven-Dashboard.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sites-Tab-WPOven-Dashboard-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sites-Tab-WPOven-Dashboard-768x384.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Sites Tab WPOven Dashboard<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\"><strong><u>Step 2<\/u><\/strong>: Click on the \u201c<strong>Advanced<\/strong>\u201d sub-tab, enter your WPoven login password, and click the \u201c<strong>Show Site SFTP Details<\/strong>\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Show-Site-SFTP-Details.png\" alt=\"Show Site SFTP Details\" class=\"wp-image-27313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Show-Site-SFTP-Details.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Show-Site-SFTP-Details-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Show-Site-SFTP-Details-768x384.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Show Site SFTP Details<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\"><strong><u>Step 3<\/u><\/strong>: After entering the password you will see all the required details you require to gain SFTP access to the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/SFTP-database-details.png\" alt=\"SFTP database details\" class=\"wp-image-27314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/SFTP-database-details.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/SFTP-database-details-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/SFTP-database-details-768x384.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>SFTP database details<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Now, you need to connect your web server with the FTP client using the login credentials, once successfully connected, you will see a window as shown in the picture given below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1025\" height=\"794\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_7-5.png\" alt=\"locating .htaccess file\" class=\"wp-image-12490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_7-5.png 1025w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_7-5-300x232.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_7-5-768x595.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>locating .htaccess file<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">After that check out the top right quadrant, where you will see a folder named your website&#8217;s domain, which is called the root directory of your website. Click on this particular folder and you will have a complete list of all the folders and files that will display. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Then click on the public_html folder or htdocs folder (<strong>Names can be different depending on the webserver you use<\/strong>) to open, where you can see all the WordPress core files, including the .htaccess file as shown below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_8-4-1024x736.png\" alt=\"locating .htaccess file\" class=\"wp-image-12491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_8-4-1024x736.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_8-4-300x216.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_8-4-768x552.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_8-4.png 1060w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>locating .htaccess file<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">One thing you must also keep in mind is that usually WordPress .htaccess files are kept hidden. So, when you look out for them in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wordpress-directory-plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress directory<\/a>, you won&#8217;t be able to see them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">For that, you will be required to enable &#8216;Show hidden files&#8221; options, and to do that in the FTP client, <strong>go to server &gt; Force showing hidden files.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_10-3-1024x410.png\" alt=\"Enable Show Hidden Files in FTP\" class=\"wp-image-12496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_10-3-1024x410.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_10-3-300x120.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_10-3-768x307.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_10-3.png 1357w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Enable Show Hidden Files in FTP<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#daf2ff\"><strong>Read:<\/strong>   \ud83d\udea9 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/stop-wordpress-from-overwriting-htaccess-file\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/stop-wordpress-from-overwriting-htaccess-file\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Stop WordPress From Overwriting .htaccess File?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Locating the WordPress htaccess file using cPanel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">If your web hosting provider offers you cPanel accessibility, it will become easy for you to locate WordPress .htaccess files without using an FTP client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">1. To do this, first, you need to log into your cPanel as shown below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"509\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_11-3-1024x509.png\" alt=\"cPanel login page\" class=\"wp-image-12497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_11-3-1024x509.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_11-3-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_11-3-768x382.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_11-3-1536x764.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_11-3.png 1697w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>cPanel login page<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">2. Lookout for the <strong>Files<\/strong> section and click on the File Manager<strong> option<\/strong> as shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"174\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_12-2-1024x174.png\" alt=\"File Manager in cPanel\" class=\"wp-image-12498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_12-2-1024x174.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_12-2-300x51.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_12-2-768x131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_12-2-1536x262.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_12-2.png 1608w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>File Manager in cPanel<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">3. Now you will be able to see a list of all the core files displayed on your screen. Select and click on the public_html folder to open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_13-3-1024x327.png\" alt=\"Public_html folder\" class=\"wp-image-12499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_13-3-1024x327.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_13-3-300x96.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_13-3-768x245.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_13-3-1536x490.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_13-3.png 1884w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Public_html folder<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">4. Now if you have an existing .htacess file available, it will reflect in the <strong>public_html or htdocs<\/strong> folder, if not then either it is hidden or doesn&#8217;t exist yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_14-2-1024x475.png\" alt=\"htaccess file\" class=\"wp-image-12500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_14-2-1024x475.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_14-2-300x139.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_14-2-768x356.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_14-2-1536x712.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_14-2.png 1611w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>.htaccess file<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">However, if your WordPress .<strong>htaccess file<\/strong> is hidden, you can unhide it by simply going to the Settings section located at the top right corner of the &#8220;<strong>files manager window<\/strong>&#8221; as shown in the image below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"259\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_15-1-1024x259.png\" alt=\"Unhide htaccess files\" class=\"wp-image-12502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_15-1-1024x259.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_15-1-300x76.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_15-1-768x195.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_15-1-1536x389.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_15-1.png 1607w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Unhide htaccess files<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">A preferences window will pop out as shown in the picture below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/unhide-htaccess-file.png\" alt=\"Unhide .htaccess File\" class=\"wp-image-19415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/unhide-htaccess-file.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/unhide-htaccess-file-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/unhide-htaccess-file-768x384.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Unhide .htaccess File<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Now simply, check the &#8221; Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)&#8221; box and click on Save. All the hidden files will start reflecting on your file manager window.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.wpoven.com\/users\/signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"277\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/WPOven-Moneyback-guarantee.png\" alt=\"WPOven\" class=\"wp-image-26938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/WPOven-Moneyback-guarantee.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/WPOven-Moneyback-guarantee-300x81.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/WPOven-Moneyback-guarantee-768x208.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to create and edit the WordPress htaccess file?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">To create a WordPress .htaccess file if your website does not have any, you need to locate your .htaccess file by either of the two methods (via FTP client or cPanel) that we have already mentioned in the above section and follow these simple steps given below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Creating and editing WordPress .htaccess file in cPanel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">First, to create a new .htacess file, you need to click on the &#8221; <strong>+File<\/strong>&#8221; option located at the top left corner of your File Manager window, as shown in the picture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"342\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_18-1-1024x342.png\" alt=\"Creating new .htaccess file \" class=\"wp-image-12508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_18-1-1024x342.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_18-1-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_18-1-768x256.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_18-1-1536x512.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_18-1.png 1541w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Creating new .htaccess file<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">After that, a new popup <strong>New File<\/strong> Window will prompt on your screen, in which you can write the file name as .htaccess and click on the <strong>Create New File<\/strong> button as shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"303\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_19-1024x303.png\" alt=\"New .htacess file\" class=\"wp-image-12510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_19-1024x303.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_19-300x89.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_19-768x227.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_19-1536x454.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_19.png 1881w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>New .htacess file<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">And you are done. Now you can add rules to this new file or edit the existing one by right-clicking on your .htaccess file and selecting the Edit menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_20-1024x343.png\" alt=\"Editing htaccess file on cPanel\" class=\"wp-image-12511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_20-1024x343.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_20-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_20-768x257.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_20-1536x514.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_20.png 1889w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Editing htaccess file on cPanel<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">After that, the file will open in a web-based text editor, where you can either add some rules or edit the existing ones. By default, the rules in the WordPress .htaccess file look like in the picture below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"938\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_21.png\" alt=\"WordPress .htaccess\" class=\"wp-image-12512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_21.png 938w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_21-300x138.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_21-768x354.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>WordPress .htaccess<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Creating and editing .htacess file in FTP client (Filezilla)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">First, you need to log in to your FTP client (FileZilla) using FTP credentials, which we have already mentioned the steps in the above sections. Double-click on the public_html  or htdocs folder to open all the listings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"504\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_23-1024x504.png\" alt=\"Create .htaccess file using FTP client\" class=\"wp-image-12514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_23-1024x504.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_23-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_23-768x378.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_23-1536x756.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_23.png 1887w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Create .htaccess file using FTP client<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">In the same file listing, you need to right-click and select the Create new file option as shown in the picture above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_24-1024x495.png\" alt=\"Create .htaccess file using FTP client\" class=\"wp-image-12515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_24-1024x495.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_24-300x145.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_24-768x371.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_24-1536x743.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_24.png 1903w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Create .htaccess file using FTP client<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">After that enter the file name as &#8220;<strong>.htaccess<\/strong>&#8221; followed by clicking on the <strong>OK<\/strong> button and you are done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Now if you want to edit a .htaccess file in an FTP client, right-click on the .htaccess file and select the <strong>View\/ Edit<\/strong> option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_26-1024x553.png\" alt=\"Editing htaccess file on FTP client\" class=\"wp-image-12516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_26-1024x553.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_26-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_26-768x415.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_26.png 1530w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Editing htaccess file on FTP client<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Then the <strong>.htaccess<\/strong> file will open in a text editor where you can either add some more rules or make certain changes to it and save it to the server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"913\" height=\"704\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_27.png\" alt=\"htaccess file\" class=\"wp-image-12517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_27.png 913w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_27-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_27-768x592.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>htaccess file<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">However, if you do not like to go through all these complex steps and do not like to touch your website core files. There are plenty of WordPress .htaccess file editor tools available such as .<strong>htaccess file editor<\/strong> in the WordPress directory <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large imgsha round\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"468\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_28-1024x468.png\" alt=\"htaccess file editor WordPress plugin\" class=\"wp-image-12518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_28-1024x468.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_28-300x137.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_28-768x351.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot_28.png 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>.htaccess File Editor<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons has-custom-font-size has-medium-font-size is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-4 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wp-htaccess-editor\/\" style=\"border-radius:6px\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">Download Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group fre-pros-box is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading myh2\">Additional Info: Creating multiple htaccess files<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">You can create multiple .htaccess files for your website and apply different settings to different directories on your server. All you need to do is create a new .htaccess file or upload a plain text file in any directory on your server. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">But there are a few things that you must keep in mind regarding creating multiple<strong> .htaccess<\/strong> files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"justify\">\n<li>Usually, try to avoid creating multiple numbers of .htaccess files on your server, because it can seriously impact your server speed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can increase server resource usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The .htaccess files that are put in higher order will get first preference in the pathway.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Now let us check out the possibilities that you can do with .htaccess files.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.wpoven.com\/users\/signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"277\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Fast-Hosting.png\" alt=\"WPOven\" class=\"wp-image-27033\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Fast-Hosting.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Fast-Hosting-300x81.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Fast-Hosting-768x208.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What can you do with WordPress .htaccess file?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">After knowing about the true meaning of the .htaccess file, how it works, and how you can locate or edit them. But after that, The most common question will arise in the beginner&#8217;s mind &#8221; <strong>How do I use .htaccess file in WordPress?<\/strong> &#8220;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Well to answer that question, let us check out all the possibilities that you can do with the .htaccess file by adding your own rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">But before that keep in mind, make sure to create a backup of your .htaccess file or download it on your local computer before making any customization or editing for your safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Redirection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">If you have recently changed the domain name of your site. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wordpress-redirect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">set up redirection<\/a> so that it will be easy for your visitors to reach the new URL rather than the old one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">To enable this, all you need to do is add the following lines to your .htaccess file and upload it to your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong># enable basic rewriting<br>RewriteEngine on<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">for 301 permanent redirections (Redirecting all the traffic) add the following lines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong>RewriteEngine On<br>RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off<br>RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https:\/\/%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Disable Hotlinking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">If you do not want any other website owner to use your web server resources. You can simply disable hotlinking by adding the following lines to your .htaccess file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong>RewriteEngine on<br>RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$<br>RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http:\/\/(www\\.)yourdomain.com\/.*$ [NC]<br>RewriteRule \\.<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Custom 404 Error pages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">If you do not want your users to see the same boring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/error-404-not-found\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Error 404 pages<\/a> on your website and want to replace them with some interesting or creative way, add the following lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong># serve custom error pages <br>ErrorDocument 400 400.html<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Make sure to replace <strong>400.html<\/strong> with your actual page name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Blocking IP address<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">If you do not like some particular users to access your website. You can easily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/how-to-block-ip-address-in-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">block their IP address<\/a> by adding the following lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong>order allow,deny<br>deny from  192.158. 1.38.<br>allow from<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round\">Replace &#8221;&nbsp;<strong>192.158.<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>1.38<\/strong>&#8221; this IP address with the IP address of the user that you want to block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Forcing HTTPS <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round\">If you want to force every user who is visiting your website to use a Secure connection. You can add the following lines to your .htaccess file and ensure secure traffic. This will redirect from http:\/\/www.yoursite.com to https:\/\/www.yoursite.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong>#force SSL on entire site<br>RewriteEngine On <br>RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on<br>RewriteRule ^\/?(.*) https:\/\/Yoursite.com\/$1 [R=301,L]<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify guide-highlight-section green-section\"><strong>Note<\/strong>: This will only work if you already have an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/does-wpoven-provide-ssl-certificate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SSL certificate installed<\/a> on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Add a password to protect some areas of your website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">You can also protect your website from users accessing your website using passwords. So that they cannot be able to access certain areas of the website. All you need to just add the following rules in your .htaccess file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"round has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0\"><code><strong>AuthType Basic <br>AuthName \"My Protected Folder\" <br>AuthUserFile ..\/..\/.htpasswd <br>require valid-user<\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">But you also need to create a password file (<strong>.htpasswd<\/strong>) separately that contains a username and password separated by a colon (:).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/dedicated-hosting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"137\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wpoven-dedicated-hosting-1024x137.png\" alt=\"WPOven Dedicated Hosting\" class=\"wp-image-25538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wpoven-dedicated-hosting-1024x137.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wpoven-dedicated-hosting-300x40.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wpoven-dedicated-hosting-768x102.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wpoven-dedicated-hosting-1536x205.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wpoven-dedicated-hosting.png 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Summarizing all the facts and features of the .htaccess file, it turned out to be a very powerful configuration file. Making some changes or adding rules can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/http-security-headers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enhance the security<\/a> and solve some of the serious issues of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Here are some of the tasks you can do with it by adding some rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"justify\">\n<li>Disable hotlinking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Force HTTPS<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/7-simple-ways-to-protect-your-wordpress-business-site\/\">Password protect your website<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Redirection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Custom 404 Error pages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>IP blocking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">In addition to that, we have also shown you how can you view  and edit your .htaccess file by the following methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"justify\">\n<li>via cPanel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>via FTP client<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Usign WordPress Plugins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">In case, you are locked out of your website and are unable to access cPanel, you can alternatively follow the FTP method and edit or view the file. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">So, this is all about the .htaccess file, if you are looking for more content related to WordPress, feel free to check out our other Blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"justify\">Do you have any more valuable points to share? Please do let us know in the comment section below!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block justify\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1648140486953\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>What is the WordPress .htaccess?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The WordPress .htaccess file is one of the most powerful and useful configuration files on your WordPress site. It is considered the most powerful configuration file that is responsible for controlling or managing the most vital configurations of your website.<br \/>These files consist of several rules or protocols for the Apache web server, that it needs to obey. You will find this file located either in the root directory of your website or the central directory. It is such a vital file that by default it is kept hidden in your root directory so that no one can get easy access to it to make changes without authorization.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1648140532486\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Where is the WordPress .htaccess file located?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The WordPress .htaccess file is located in the root folder of your website. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1648140591648\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>How many .htaccess files should I have?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Although there can be multiple .htaccess files a website has. However, it is highly preferable to have a single .htaccess file for your WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_13ee018b-8004-4a6d-935b-2ae8e0654de8\"><hr class=\"ub_divider\" ><\/hr><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WordPress offers unlimited options for both technical as well as non-technical users to explore all the corners of WordPress to manage. To squeeze out the maximum of your WordPress site, you need to learn about the backend processes. To figure out this, one of the most important steps is to understand what is the WordPress .htaccess file and how you can explore it.<\/p>\n<p>To run WordPress sites successfully, these websites completely rely on several vital core files, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wordpress-htaccess\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More <i class=\"fa fa-angle-double-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What Is WordPress htaccess? [+ How to Use and Edit It]&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":27309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WordPress-htaccess.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Rahul","author_link":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/author\/rahul\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27319,"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12484\/revisions\/27319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}