In this tutorial, we are going to walk you through the process of enabling mod_rewrite on your AwardSpace web server.
What is Mod_Rewrite?
Mod_rewrite is an Apache module that helps you perform redirects and define rewrite rules with the use of a .htaccess file.
For more detailed information, please visit the official Apache Module mod_rewrite page.
How Can I Enable the Apache Rewrite Module on a Shared Hosting Account?
The Apache module mod_rewrite comes preinstalled with all shared hosting plans. Therefore, you will not be required to perform any manual installation of the module on the server.
In order to enable the rewrite module on your website, make sure that your .htaccess contains the following two lines of code:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
At the end, your code should look similar to the following:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
Note: If you have installed your application in a subdirectory of your domain name (domain.com/site/ for example), it will be necessary to make a couple of slight modifications to the code:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /site/
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /site/index.php [L]
Please make sure that you replace site with your actual directory name.
How Can I Enable the Rewrite Module on a VPS Server?
On a Debian/Ubuntu server, the Apache rewrite module is installed, but not enabled by default.
If you have an active VPS account and wish to enable mod_rewrite on your web server, you should perform the following steps:
1. Log into your VPS account via SSH and execute the following command in Terminal:
a2enmod rewrite
2. Restart the Apache web server:
/etc/init.d/apache2 restart
3. Locate the main .htaccess file in your web application’s root directory, and then copy and paste the below code into it:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
Save the changes you have just made and re-test your application.
