Why permalinks work with /index.php/%postname% but not with just %postname%?

2 Views

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

Read More
# 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

Post Views: 2

Related posts

Leave a Reply

13 comments

  1. 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. 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.

  4. 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

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  11. 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

  13. 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 apacheconfhttpd.conf.)