7

I'm having a problem with Wordpress permalinks. I change the permalinks to pretty permalinks but I am just getting 404s for the pages now. The strange thing is when I use /index.php/%postname% the page links work fine, but I need to get rid of the index.php part.

I read about making changes to httpd.conf file but can't find the file anywhere. The htaccess file is correct as far as I can find out, it's below

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress

Any other ideas?

Thanks Emma

9
  • whats your host?
    – Bainternet
    Jul 12, 2011 at 11:41
  • Hey, it's a local company, running a server from their shop. They have a very basic web panel!
    – emmahiggy
    Jul 12, 2011 at 12:20
  • Maybe check the .htaccess file permissions. Maybe WP can't get to it?
    – Cristian
    Jul 12, 2011 at 12:38
  • I have the file permissions for the htaccess file set to 644, the permalink is changing but the pages are not changing with it so I'm getting 404s when the permalink is correct.
    – emmahiggy
    Jul 12, 2011 at 14:28
  • What's the exact value of the permalinks setting?
    – Alex Older
    Jul 12, 2011 at 14:39

13 Answers 13

12

I had all the correct code in the .htaccess file, but it ended up being completely overridden in the Ubuntu default /etc/apache2/apache2.conf file as well. Changed the entry for / and /var/www from AllowOverride None to AllowOverride All, restarted Apache and now everything works just fine.

2
  • It worked !! Thanks
    – Bharat
    Jan 1, 2021 at 20:48
  • Brilliant, This worked. This needs to be updated in the manual somewhere Sep 1, 2021 at 17:40
5

My guess is that mod_rewrite is not enabled. Depending on what server you are using, enable mod_rewrite.

Then, if you are on Linux, manually edit /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default and change AllowOverride for from None to All (or where your site's directory is).

Here, at points 3 & 4 should be solutions for Windows.

3

I've been working on similar problem since yesterday and finally found my solution.

1) Ensure your .htaccess has permission of 666

2) Enable the mod_rewrite:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

3) restart apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

4) AllowOverride All for the public directory on /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

<Directory /var/www/html>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
</Directory>

5) Restart apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

6) Go to Wordpress dashboard and change the permalink settings (if you are on postname, change to plain, or vice versa). View the site to check.

7) Go to dashboard again and change permalink settings to your desired settings.

8) Revert .htaccess settings to 644

This worked for me.

1

Are you by any chance using Names.co.uk as your host?

I just had the same problem as you, and after a couple of hours of Googling I found out that they use a Zeus server - not Apache - and it does not support the Mod_ReWrite function. This seems to account for the confusing symptoms. (I had no .htaccess file - but no errors reported from Wordpress whenever I made a change to my permalink preferences.)

They have a workaround for Zeus, detailed here:

http://www.names.co.uk/support/hosting/linux_hosting/1119-wordpress_rewrite_script.html

I realise this is a couple of months after your original post and you've probably solved it by now - but for anyone who finds this in the future it would be a good idea to check if your host uses Zeus or some other non-Apache server.

Update: Please see the code I posted here on a similar question

1

I have been battling this issue for a while, and today I resolved this problem. I found out that my mod_rewrite wasn't enabled all this while. I found the information on this link very useful. It explains everything from how to check if the mod_rewrite is enabled, and if not - how to enable it. I hope this information is useful for anybody who is new to WP and struggling with setting pretty permalinks.

1
  • 2
    All relevant information should be part of your answer, especially your answer shouldn't be depending on external links, because the information there might disappear and then your answer is more or less worthless. So would you please add the information to your answer - thanks. Jan 8, 2016 at 13:46
0

Try setting the htaccess to 777 then go in and update the permalink settings to what you want, then if it works go back and change it back to 644

0
0

After adding my content I found an article that suggested deleting the .htaccess file, then go to Settings/permalinks and remove the index.php. The article said WorPress would give an error suggesting you create the .htaccess file. I decided to try it but it did nothing. What I did find out is my permalinks were still working with the deleted .htaccess file. This puzzled me at first. I opened my FTP client and navigated to my files. I noticed that there was a .htaccess file there after I had deleted it. I don't know if it is WordPress, my Hosting Account or what exactly created it but I know this is new. This didn't happen before. You might try this method if all else fails.

I wasn't able to re-create the problem in your question so I'm not 100% sure if it works for you. It's worth a shot though.

regards, Jeremy Jared

1
  • Hi, tried the above and no luck, the htaccess file didn't recreate itself, but the permalinks setting didn't work so I just uploaded the htaccess file again. Thanks anyway
    – emmahiggy
    Jul 13, 2011 at 15:18
0

Try replacing the .htaccess code with this:

# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Rewrite Engine options
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCompatibility2 On
RepeatLimit 200
RewriteBase
RewriteRule ^/index.php$ / [NC,P,R=301]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/wp-admin
RewriteRule ^/(.*)/$ /index.php/$1 [NC]

# Redirect 'www.yourblogsite.com/anything/anything/index.php'
# to 'www.yourblogsite.com/anything/anything/'

RewriteRule ^/(.*)/index.php$ /$1/ [NC,P,R=301]

# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
# END REWRITES
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------

I still had the log-in credentials to a client I had to fix this for. This is what I used for him. It is an IIS Server, I'm not sure if that matters but you can try it. Good Luck, JJ

0

I know its too late to reply now but if you are still looking for this; here is a quick way to that:

Solved- How To Remove Index.php From WordPress URL On IIS7?

2
  • 1
    Please, add a solution to your Answer, if the link dies, this won't be useful anymore.
    – brasofilo
    Mar 10, 2013 at 14:34
  • @brasofilo Mother of god....! Link dead! ;) Oct 15, 2014 at 14:24
0

I was having this issue on Mac OSX and the following was very much useful. It seems that by default Mac's are not .htaccess ready by default and Apache will ignore the file until certain files (specified on the links below) are modified:

http://wordpress.org/support/topic/getting-pretty-permalinks-working-on-a-mac-105-server

http://clagnut.com/blog/350/

Hope that helps!

0

This is for apache server : Hi First Check your vitual host if you are using default, check wordpress root directory has this

  <Directory ROOT_DIR_FOR_WORDPRESS>
            php_admin_flag engine on
            AllowOverride All
            Order allow,deny
            allow from all
            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteOptions Inherit
            Require all granted
    </Directory>

check your .htaccess file in wordpress root has permission to read,write (666) and contains

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress

Enable mod rewrite (sudo a2enmod rewrite - for linux users)

Now update the permalink custom structure : /%postname%/

save and check for any errors Now it should be working

Most of the time issue is , your .htaccess is overridden by your virtual host rules

0

You need to do sudo a2enmod rewrite to enable module rewrite

1
  • Welcome to WPSE. You should give some additional detail in your answer for people that might not know what you're talking about here. More detail is always better or you'll have people asking, "Where do I find sudo in the WP admin panel?" (Also, you should give some other specifics, noting that this may not work in all cases since a2enmod is a debianism.)
    – butlerblog
    Feb 20, 2019 at 17:45
0

I think your host uses IIS (Internet Information Services). IIS uses "URL Rewrite" not "mod_rewrite", so take a look at the Codex.

"Pretty" permalinks usually require mod_rewrite, and IIS (common on Windows servers) does not support mod_rewrite. (If you are using Apache 2.0.54, on Windows, mod_rewrite may work, provided it is enabled in apache\conf\httpd.conf.)

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