{"id":2339,"date":"2021-06-29T09:59:08","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T06:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/?p=2339"},"modified":"2022-02-08T11:01:24","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T09:01:24","slug":"how-can-i-enable-mod_rewrite-module","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/how-can-i-enable-mod_rewrite-module\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Enable Mod_Rewrite Module?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After moving your website<\/b>, you can rewrite the URLs to forward visitors to the<\/span> new <\/b>domain name<\/b><\/a>, saving you from traffic and potential sales losses. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can also rewrite ugly and unwieldy URLs (like www.mystore.com\/p=72829) to make them intuitive for shoppers, for example, to something like  <\/span>www.mystore.com\/computers\/laptops\/hp. <\/b><\/p>\n

The link is easier on the eyes, looks clean, and<\/span> visitors can extract semantic meanings.<\/b><\/p>\n

Of course, enabling the mod_rewrite module makes this possible. So let\u2019s learn what it\u2019s, how it works and <\/span>how to enable it for your account.<\/b><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Mod_Rewrite?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The mod_rewrite  is an <\/span>Apache module<\/b> that helps users manipulate or rewrite URLs from the server, allowing them to offer different URLs for the same file.<\/span><\/p>\n

The module uses a rule-based rewriting engine to let<\/span> users rewrite URLs.<\/b><\/p>\n

Users can enable the .htaccess file after <\/span>activating the mod_rewriting module <\/b>to let them rewrite URLs via the file on their account control panel instead of on their remote servers. <\/span><\/p>\n

The .htaccess file <\/span>allows people to configure server settings <\/b>without accessing its configuration files.<\/span><\/p>\n

How the Rewrite Rule Works<\/b><\/h2>\n

The mod_rewrite module <\/span>relies on rules to match URLs.<\/b><\/p>\n

When a visitor makes a URL request,<\/span> the module checks the incoming URLs <\/b>against existing rules, which use regular expressions to define the match condition or pattern. <\/span><\/p>\n

If the URL matches a rule, it<\/span> checks the defined condition and proceeds to the next rule<\/b> until there are no more rules left, and then executes the substitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, if you set up a <\/span>rewrite rule <\/b>that forwards users from www to non-www when they make a page request, the module will compare the URL against all existing rules><\/span><\/p>\n

If it matches the www to non-www rewrite rule and other defined rules (for instance, HTTP to HTTPS redirect),<\/span> it executes all the rewrites at once.<\/b><\/p>\n

The mod_write syntax follows this pattern <\/b>RewriteRule Pattern Substitution [Flags]:<\/b><\/p>\n