.using .htaccess files to personalize your web site/space

Knowing what this simple file can do will save you tons of time, and give you much, much more control over your web site. You can perform so many other, different functions. After reading this tutorial, I hope you have a good grasp on how powerful this simple file can be!

**NOTE: Not all hosts will allow you to have a custom .htaccess file, if you are experiencing trouble with this tutorial and know your doing everything right, then I suggest you think about switching hosts. (Our hosting DOES allow you to edit the .htaccess files.) If you are un-sure if your host allows it, there's no harm in emailing them to ask!

What this tutorial will covor:
(error pages, ban users, new index page, redirect, stop hotlinking, don't list directories, more CGI-BINs, change php.ini, html = php)

Lets start with one of the most common .htaccess questions...

.Custom 404 pages!

First off create a file called htaccess.txt on your computer (most OS will not allow you to create a file with no name before the "." so this is the work around.) **NOTE: From this point on we will assume this file is already made and is empty. Make sure if you already have a .htaccess in your webspace, you don't accidentaly over-write it.

Place the following inside the htaccess.txt file:

Now upload the htaccess.txt to your www, or public_html directory and rename it to .htaccess (yes, there IS supposed to be a "." at the start) If you are having trouble viewing the file when it is uploaded, that is because any file with a "." at the start is hidden. To view, in your ftp browser, use mode -al or -la. Usually you can do this by finding a little white box and typing -al in it.

Of course, you then would upload your custom 404 error page to that spot on your page. (http://site.com/errors/404.php) You can also use a HTTP:// url or even html in "Quotes", but this isn't suggested.

Now for some reason, IE will not use your custom 404 page unless it is bigger than 512 bytes. This only counts text, not images. If you need the file to be bigger, add comments like:

.a Little info on 404 error pages...

404 erros occur when a file cannot be located. Some times actually they just happen by fluke, but the point is, they are one of the most common, and most hated errors on the internet. Studies say that if given a good enough chance, 1 out of 5 people will try and look for content them selves, while most will just hit the back button and forget about it. If you design a good, helpful custom 404 page, then you will keep visitors on your site. Make sure you give a link to your "home" page, and any other helpful stuff you can think of.

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