Pretty URLs Not Working

[Ian Eberle]

I have my forum installed inside a WordPress install and it's working perfectly except for the SEO-friendly URLs, pretty URLs or whatever they're called. Whenever I turn them on, it loads on the WordPress site and gives me 404 errors. When I turn them off and leave it /index.php?... it works fine.

WordPress: www.aquaticforums.net
Xenforo: www.aquaticforums.net/forums

Is this a downside of using both WordPress and Xenforo in the same parent folder on my server?

 

[MattW]

What have you got in your .htaccess file? Is it using the Wordpress version, or the Xenforo version?

 

[Ian Eberle]

It should be using the XenForo .htaccess. There's a .htaccess in the folder WordPress is in and there's another one in /forums too. They're on different databases too.

I'm not sure what I have in my .htaccess file as I've never looked at one in my life. I just know that it's there.

 

[MattW]

So your Xenforo install is inside a folder called /forums, and the WordPress install is in the root directory of the domain?

Is mod_rewrite enabled?

 

[Ian Eberle]

That's correct.

How would I know if mod_rewrite is enabled?

 

[MattW]

If you log into your ACP on the forum, go to URL: admin.php?tools/phpinfo

In there, search for mod_rewrite to see if it's there in the loaded modules area.

 

[Ian Eberle]

I looked and I don't think it's there, but I'm not sure. So I saved the PHP info as a PDF so you can take a second look. Thanks for your help!

PDF is attached below:

 

[MattW]

Ah, good old Hostgator!

Firstly, you are on a very old version of PHP. 5.2 was End Of Life in 2010! : http://uk.php.net/archive/2010.php

I can't see mod_rewrite anywhere in that file. Is this shared hosting you are on?

 

[Ian Eberle]

Yes, it's HostGator shared hosting. Once my forum outgrows it, though, I'll be moving to VPS

 

[Ian Eberle]

Is it HostGator's fault I have an old version of PHP or mine?

 

[MattW]

Their fault. They seem to like to run the old 5.2 version of PHP.

Contact them and ask them to enable mod_rewrite and the SEO URL's should work.

 

[Ian Eberle]

They wouldn't do it for me... They just sent me to this page: https://support.hostgator.com/artic...ache-htaccess/apache-mod_rewrite-and-examples

Now I have to figure out what code to enter in myself. Is it specific to a certain action or turning on mod_rewrite in general? I know a lot about servers and website stuff, but like I said, I've never needed to touch a .htaccess before, so this is all new.

 

[MattW]

So they have said it's active on the server? In that case, can you post the contents of the .htaccess file in the forum directory?

 

[Ian Eberle]

#Mod_security can interfere with uploading of content such as attachments. If you
#cannot attach files, remove the "#" from the lines below.
#<IfModule mod_security.c>
#SecFilterEngine Off
#SecFilterScanPOST Off
#</IfModule>

ErrorDocument 401 default
ErrorDocument 403 default
ErrorDocument 404 default
ErrorDocument 500 default

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On

#If you are having problems with the rewrite rules, remove the "#" from the
#line that begins "RewriteBase" below. You will also have to change the path
#of the rewrite to reflect the path to your XenForo installation.
#RewriteBase /xenforo

#This line may be needed to enable WebDAV editing with PHP as a CGI.
#RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -l [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^.*$ - [NC,L]
RewriteRule ^(data/|js/|styles/|install/|favicon\.ico|crossdomain\.xml|robots\.txt) - [NC,L]
RewriteRule ^.*$ index.php [NC,L]
</IfModule>

 

[MattW]

That's the standard .htaccess file, and should work.

 

[Ian Eberle]

Let me try enabling pretty URLs and see what happens.

 

[Ian Eberle]

When I click on anything on the forum, I get a 404 error. The 404 error page is part of my WordPress site not my XenForo site. Try it out:

http://www.aquaticforums.net/forums/

 

[MattW]

It's working now for me? Have you done something else to fix it?

 

[Ian Eberle]

#If you are having problems with the rewrite rules, remove the "#" from the
#line that begins "RewriteBase" below. You will also have to change the path
#of the rewrite to reflect the path to your XenForo installation.
#RewriteBase /xenforo

I should have paid more attention... It works now. Thanks for your help!

 

[MattW]

Excellent, glad it's sorted