Common .htaccess Rules and What They Do

The .htaccess file gives you a lot of control over how your website works. Here's a handy reference of common rules you might use on your dotCanada shared hosting account.

Force HTTPS

Redirect all HTTP traffic to the secure HTTPS version of your site:

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

Block a Specific IP Address

Deny access to a visitor from a specific IP:

Deny from 123.456.789.0

Disable Directory Listing

Prevent visitors from browsing your folder contents when no index file exists:

Options -Indexes

Set a Custom Error Page

Show a friendly custom page for 404 errors:

ErrorDocument 404 /404.html

Increase PHP Memory Limit

Override the default PHP memory limit for your account:

php_value memory_limit 256M

Set Default Character Encoding

AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

Protect a File

Block direct access to a sensitive file like wp-config.php:

<Files wp-config.php>
Order allow,deny
Deny from all
</Files>

A Final Note

Always test changes on a staging site or keep a backup of your working .htaccess before editing. If something goes wrong, contact our support team and we'll help you sort it out.