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What to Do If Your .htaccess Rules Aren't Working

If you're placing a rule inside your .htaccess file and it doesn't seem to be working, you likely have either typed the rule incorrectly or you're trying to use a rule that isn't allowed.

Instead of causing a 500 error like would typically happen in most hosting environments, Pagely takes the approach of simply disregarding the rule. This ensures that in the event that you make a mistake in your .htaccess file, your site still stays alive and healthy.

Check For Disallowed Rules

For security purposes, there are a few .htaccess rules that are not allowed. These directives are the following:

  • AddHandler
  • SetType
  • ForceType
  • SetInputFilter
  • SetOutputFilter
  • Action
  • PHP directives such as php_value, php_flag, etc. cannot be used.

If you're using any of these rules, they'll be ignored and won't take effect.

Can I Enable a Disallowed Rule?

Any rules that we do not allow cannot be enabled in Apache + Nginx mode, but switching to purely Nginx mode may offer you additional options to achieve the same end-result. See our article on Apache + Nginx vs. Nginx-Only modes for further details.

Triple-Check For Typos

You might have already checked, but check again, then one more time to ensure that you haven't made a mistake in a rule. Even the best of us make mistakes from time to time and being absolutely certain that you haven't made a typo is always a lot faster than a ticket to support.

If you still can't seem to get a rule working, our support team is always happy to assist you. Just send in a support ticket we'll get you all taken care of.

Check Your Rule Format

If you're using the recommended Nginx-Only mode, all .htaccess rules will be ignored, so you'll need to make the appropriate configuration changes for Nginx instead. To check which mode your site is running in or to change your mode, see our article on Changing Your Site to Nginx-Only Mode.

For more information on defining rules when in Nginx-Only mode, see our Advanced Configuration Guide for Nginx.

If you're certain that your rule is correct or don't know how to write your rule in the correct format, feel free to contact support and our team will be happy to sort it out for you.

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