Q) What is htaccess and why does the file start with a period?

A) htaccess is an extension of the Apache webs server’s configuration system to allow standard users to make changes to their site’s configuration on the fly without restarting the web server. Any files or directories that start with a period are forbidden to be served, for security reasons.

Advanced configurations are out of the scope of free technical support. We have many examples posted on our support site that you are reading now.

In most cases, it is advisable to seek your programmer or the commercial provider of your application software.

Editing htaccess files is considered advanced web site administration and should be left to experts in the field. However, most additions are very straight forward. BEFORE making changes or adding a new .htaccess file, please remember this!

WARNING: Make a backup of your original .htaccess file as always. Backups are GREAT practice to follow.
If something goes wrong, please remove the lines from your .htaccess or restore your known working backup file. A simple typo can cause your site to generate a 500 server error. Avoid the panic, make your backup!

Failure to follow this advise may result in the use of our emergency backup service. We kindly provide an emergency backup of your files for FREE. However, there is a fee if any of these files are needed outside the scope of a complete server failure due to hardware.

Q) How can I make a backup of my .htaccess file?

A) Download the .htaccess file and save it in a safe place on your computer named:
.htaccess.BAK.

Then, make a copy of this named:
.htaccess

Edit .htaccess with the changes you need and upload it to the server. Test your site. If things go wrong, make a new copy of your .htaccess.BAK as .htaccess. Then, upload the restored .htaccess to your server.

Never edit .htaccess.BAK – it’s your backup file for a reason.