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An .htaccess generator creates Apache server configuration files that control redirects, security headers, GZIP compression, and browser caching rules for your website. SEOShouts' free tool generates production-ready .htaccess code with WordPress, Shopify, Laravel, and Joomla presets - no server knowledge required.
Download or copy your file - ready to upload to your server root
Commented Apache rules, ready to review and upload
"I've fixed hundreds of Apache server misconfigurations for clients who did not know what an .htaccess file was - let alone how to write one correctly. This tool generates safe, production-tested rules so you do not have to guess."
- Rohit Sharma, Founder of SEOShouts | Meet Our Experts
An .htaccess file is a directory-level Apache configuration file that lets you control redirects, security headers, compression, and caching from your site root. Apache reads it before serving matching requests.
For SEO, this file controls some of the most important technical behaviors: URL migrations, HTTP to HTTPS redirects, redirect-chain cleanup, compression, and browser caching. Getting these wrong can hurt crawling, indexing, and page speed.
The challenge is syntax. Apache rules are unforgiving, and one typo can produce a site-wide 500 error. This generator outputs structured, commented rules so you can review and upload with less risk.
Create 301, 302, 307, and 308 redirects with multiple rows and clean Apache output.
Toggle XSS protection, clickjacking protection, content-type sniffing protection, HSTS, and more.
Enable compression for HTML, CSS, JS, XML, and fonts to reduce transfer size.
Set cache expiries for HTML, CSS/JS, images, and fonts with practical presets.
WordPress, Shopify, Laravel, and Joomla presets prefill common settings and rewrite blocks.
Add ErrorDocument routes and optional php_value/php_flag overrides when hosting allows them.
Step 1
Choose WordPress, Shopify, Laravel, Joomla, or no preset. This loads common rewrite and optimization defaults.
Step 2
Add redirects for moved URLs. Use 301 for permanent changes, migrations, and HTTPS upgrades.
Step 3
Turn on X-XSS-Protection, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and other relevant headers.
Step 4
Enable GZIP compression and browser caching to improve page speed and repeat-visit performance.
Step 5
Generate the file, review the commented output, download as `.htaccess`, upload to your server root, and test immediately.
Use 301 redirects for permanent URL changes, rebrands, migrations, and HTTP to HTTPS upgrades. Reserve 302 for temporary changes such as campaign pages or short-term maintenance flows.
Redirect chains (A -> B -> C) add latency and create crawling inefficiency. Redirect the original URL directly to the final destination whenever possible.
Validate your live pages with the On-Page SEO Analyzer after deploying new redirects.
Redirect deleted URLs to the most relevant replacement page. Homepage redirects are a poor substitute for page-level relevance and can behave like soft 404s.
Redirect 301 /old-page/ https://yourdomain.com/new-page/
RewriteRule ^old-page/(.*)$ /new-page/$1 [R=301,L]
GZIP is one of the highest-ROI performance optimizations you can apply via .htaccess. It compresses text-based resources before they are sent to the browser.
Combined with browser caching, it can significantly reduce transfer size and repeat-load overhead, supporting faster pages and stronger Core Web Vitals.
| Resource Type | Average Size Reduction |
|---|---|
| HTML | 70-80% |
| CSS | 60-75% |
| JavaScript | 60-75% |
| XML/SVG | 65-80% |
| Web Fonts | 30-50% |
| Images (JPEG/PNG) | <5% (usually not recommended) |
| Feature | SEOShouts | Others (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| CMS Presets | Yes (4 presets) | Often missing |
| Security Headers | Yes (6 toggles) | Basic or missing |
| GZIP + Caching | Yes (configurable) | Basic or missing |
| Custom Error Pages | Yes | Often missing |
| PHP Settings | Yes | Rarely included |
| Commented Output | Yes | Usually no |
Use this checklist after generating and uploading your file. Verify technical behavior before and after deployment.
Everything you need to know about .htaccess files and Apache rules
Generate Apache server rules for redirects, security headers, and access control.
✓ Current ToolAudit redirects, status codes, crawlability, and 150+ technical SEO factors after deploying .htaccess rules.
Try Tool →Pair server-level Apache rules with crawler directives for a complete technical SEO setup.
Try Tool →Rebuild your XML sitemap after migrations so redirected or removed URLs are handled correctly.
Try Tool →Generate Google-compliant disavow files from any backlink export format with dedupe and whitelist.
Try Tool →Combine server optimization with structured data to improve how search engines understand your pages.
Try Tool →All tools are 100% free - No signup required - Instant results
Generate a production-ready .htaccess file in under 2 minutes.