WordPress is simultaneously the simplest and easiest you-are-in-complete-control website tool, and one of the most frustrating. Case in point: WordPress htaccess.

OK, hang on: to start with, there’s no “WordPress htaccess“; htaccess (OK … there’s a period in the name so .htaccess) exists—and for good reason—on all Unix/Linux servers. In simplest terms .htaccess controls how all other files are processed.

Note that I referred to .htaccess as a “file”. That leading “.” makes calling htaccess a file interesting in a non-Linux environment, and WordPress can control many of the functions that would otherwise be managed in .htaccess without there actually being an .htaccess file so … what the heck are we talking about?

WORDPRESS HTACCESS

At a macro level let’s ignore where your WordPress htaccess “file” is. There is one/isn’t one/there are multiples (an .htaccess file potentially lives in each folder of your website installation). Whatever method of .htaccess is being employed, the point is that .htacess manages things like security, and errors, and what kind of information can be passed around by your WordPress site.

WordPress htaccess is not a topic for beginners

So imagine my surprise when I came across the article below at WPBeginner, a site that caters to WordPress neophytes, often recommends the use of plug-ins even when it doesn’t make sense, comes up with an amazing range of WordPress Tips, and yet in this case is showing us manual WordPress htaccess code.

Remember where we started? “WordPress is simultaneously the simplest and easiest you-are-in-complete-control website tool, and one of the most frustrating“. WPBeginner’s 9 Most Useful .htaccess Tricks for WordPress is the kind of article we hate to love to hate. And it contains a treasure trove of useful security information.

Speaking of which: we have a story about how you can easily handle WordPress security queued up for next week. Make sure you stay with us …

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Article Title:

WordPress htaccess ... DOH! ... .htaccess

Subject:

Sometimes, all it takes is one dot to screw you up. The WordPRess htaccess situation is like that, starting with the .htaccess file name and moving on to whether you HAVE an .htaccess file.

Author:

The WordPress Helpers