How can I enable the Mod-Rewrite Module

mod_rewrite is the Apache module that lets you redirect and rewrite URLs: forcing HTTPS, choosing www or non-www, turning product.php?id=42 into /product/42, and sending old pages to new ones. On Domain India's Linux shared hosting there is nothing to install or switch on. The module is already loaded on every server, and you use it by writing rules in a .htaccess file.

1. mod_rewrite is already on: there is nothing to enable

Many older guides tell you to run a2enmod rewrite, edit httpd.conf or restart Apache. Those steps are for someone who runs their own server. On shared hosting the server configuration is managed for you, and on ours the module is already there.

We checked the live servers on 22 September 2026:

So "enabling mod_rewrite" on our Linux hosting means one thing: adding the line RewriteEngine On to a .htaccess file. That line switches the rewrite engine on for that folder and its subfolders. Without it, any RewriteRule below it is ignored.

2. Where your .htaccess file lives

Rules go in a file called .htaccess (with the leading dot, no extension) in your website's root folder. Apache reads it on every request, so changes take effect as soon as you save. No restart is needed.

To create or edit it:

You can also edit the file over FTP, or over SSH if it is enabled on your account.

3. How a rewrite rule works

Every rule has the same parts. Once you can read them, most rules you find online make sense.

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

• RewriteCond is an optional test. The rule below it runs only if the condition matches. Here: "the request did not use HTTPS". Several conditions in a row must all match, unless you add [OR].
• RewriteRule pattern target [flags]. The pattern is a regular expression tested against the requested path. The target is where the request goes. $1 inserts whatever the first ( ) in the pattern captured.
• Flags in square brackets change the behaviour.

The flags you will use most:

A rule without R is an internal rewrite: Apache serves a different file, but the visitor's address bar does not change. That is how clean URLs work.

4. Rules most websites need

Put redirect rules above any application block (such as # BEGIN WordPress), because rules run from top to bottom.

Force HTTPS, and choose www or non-www

Make sure your free SSL certificate is active first, then:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

If you also want to settle on www or non-www, don't stack a second rule under this one. That makes a two-hop redirect chain. Use the single combined rule in how to redirect non-www to www, which handles HTTPS and the host name in one hop and covers Cloudflare loops. cPanel also has a "Force HTTPS Redirect" switch on its Domains page. Use either the switch or the rule, not both.

Redirect one old page to a new one

RewriteRule ^old-page\.html$ /new-page/ [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^example\.html$ /example.php [R=301,L]

Escape dots in the pattern with a backslash (\.), because a bare dot means "any character".

Move a whole domain to a new one

Put this in the old domain's .htaccess. Every path is carried over, so olddomain.in/contact lands on newdomain.in/contact:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?olddomain\.in$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ https://www.newdomain.in%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

Clean URLs for a hand-written PHP site

Serve about.php at /about, and send visitors who type the old .php address to the clean one:

RewriteEngine On

# 1. Redirect /about.php to /about (only for what the visitor typed)
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \s/+(.+?)\.php[\s?] [NC]
RewriteRule ^ /%1 [R=301,L,NE]

# 2. Internally serve /about from about.php
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.php -f
RewriteRule ^(.+?)/?$ $1.php [L]

The first block checks THE_REQUEST, the original request line, so it never fires on the internal rewrite made by the second block. That is what stops it looping. Don't add these blocks to a WordPress or Laravel site: those already route everything through index.php.

A pretty URL for a script that takes a parameter:

RewriteRule ^product/([0-9]+)/?$ product.php?id=$1 [L,QSA]

/product/42 now runs product.php?id=42, and QSA keeps any extra parameters such as ?ref=ad.

5. WordPress and Laravel defaults

Most applications ship their own rules. You rarely write these by hand, but it helps to recognise them.

WordPress writes this block when you save Settings, then Permalinks. If pretty permalinks return "Not Found", open that page and click Save to rewrite it, or paste it back yourself:

# 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

WordPress may overwrite anything between the BEGIN and END lines, so keep your own rules above it. For a WordPress site in a subfolder, RewriteBase and the last line change to that folder: see section 6, and how to create a default .htaccess file for WordPress.

Laravel ships an .htaccess inside its public folder. Its main parts look like this:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    <IfModule mod_negotiation.c>
        Options -MultiViews -Indexes
    </IfModule>

    RewriteEngine On

    # Handle Authorization Header
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:Authorization} .
    RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]

    # Redirect Trailing Slashes If Not A Folder...
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (.+)/$
    RewriteRule ^ %1 [L,R=301]

    # Send Requests To Front Controller...
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteRule ^ index.php [L]
</IfModule>

Keep it with the contents of public/. Don't solve Laravel's folder layout with a rewrite that exposes the whole project from public_html: that can make your .env file readable from the web. The safe layout is in deploying Laravel on cPanel.

6. RewriteBase and sites in a subfolder

RewriteBase tells Apache which URL path to put in front of a relative target (one that doesn't start with / or http). You need it when a site lives in a subfolder and its rules use relative targets.

For WordPress installed in public_html/blog, the block in public_html/blog/.htaccess becomes:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /blog/
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /blog/index.php [L]

Two more things about folders:

• Each folder's .htaccess takes over from its parent's rewrite rules. A subfolder whose .htaccess contains rewrite rules does not also run the parent folder's rules unless you add RewriteOptions Inherit. This surprises people when a parent's HTTPS rule stops working inside a subfolder app.
• Subdomains and addon domains stored inside public_html do inherit its rules when they have no rewrite rules of their own. A domain-wide redirect in public_html can therefore catch them too. Add a RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} line to limit the rule to the right host.

7. Test your rules safely

curl -I "http://yourdomain.in/old-page.html?t=123"
curl -sIL --max-redirs 5 "http://yourdomain.in/?t=124" | grep -Ei '^(HTTP|location)'

8. Fixing 500 errors and redirect loops

A rewrite mistake shows up in one of two ways: the whole site returns 500 Internal Server Error, or the browser says "too many redirects". In either case, put your backup .htaccess back first so the site works, then fix the rule calmly.

For PHP settings, use the panel as described in PHP memory errors and custom php.ini.

Read the error log. Apache writes the exact reason for a 500 error, such as Invalid command 'RewriteEngin' or RewriteRule: bad flag delimiters, to your site's error log. cPanel shows recent entries under Metrics, then Errors. DirectAdmin has per-domain logs. See reviewing error logs in cPanel and DirectAdmin.

Loops after an HTTPS rule usually come from Cloudflare's Flexible SSL mode or WordPress address settings: see how to redirect non-www to www.

If a 500 error isn't coming from .htaccess at all, see troubleshooting a 500 Internal Server Error and checking your hosting resource usage.

9. Windows (Plesk) hosting: IIS URL Rewrite, not .htaccess

Domain India Windows hosting runs IIS on Windows Server with the Plesk panel. IIS does not read .htaccess, so Apache rules have no effect there. Rewrite and redirect rules go in the web.config file in your site's root (httpdocs), in IIS URL Rewrite format. An HTTPS redirect looks like this:

<configuration>
  <system.webServer>
    <rewrite>
      <rules>
        <rule name="Force HTTPS" stopProcessing="true">
          <match url="(.*)" />
          <conditions>
            <add input="{HTTPS}" pattern="off" ignoreCase="true" />
          </conditions>
          <action type="Redirect" url="https://{HTTP_HOST}/{R:1}" redirectType="Permanent" />
        </rule>
      </rules>
    </rewrite>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

If your web.config already has a configuration section, add only the rewrite part inside its existing system.webServer section. A malformed web.config breaks the whole site, so keep a copy before editing. For HTTPS alone, Plesk's "Permanent SEO-safe 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS" option is simpler: see HTTPS redirect in Plesk.

10. Where Domain India fits

Every Domain India Linux shared hosting plan (cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo) runs Apache with mod_rewrite loaded and .htaccess allowed, and includes free SSL and a file manager. That is everything the rules in this guide need. For a WordPress or PHP site, these are sensible starting points:

Frequently asked questions

Ready to put your rules in place? Start with the non-www to www redirect guide for HTTPS and your canonical address, use the File Manager guide to edit .htaccess, or compare cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo hosting if you need a plan. Stuck on a 500 error or a loop? Open a support ticket with your domain and the rule you added.