OpenCart 2 Search Engine Friendly URLs

Configure the .htaccess File

By default OpenCart 2 installation archive contains a file called .htaccess.txt. This file contains all the necessary rewrite rules to have the SEO URLs working. First, you will need to rename the file and change its name from:

 .htaccess.txt

to

 .htaccess

Please mind the dot "." before the name of the file, you should not remove it from the name but only the ".txt" extension of the file. You can rename this file both on your local computer and upload the file later or directly on your hosting account via FTP or using your hosting account control panel. For more information on how to upload and modify on your account via FTP, please refer to our FTP Tutorial.

Additionally, if your OpenCart 2 store is located under a subdirectory of your account you will need to edit the RewriteBase like in the .htaccess file. To do so, please open the .htaccess file on and locate the following line:

RewriteBase /

In case your store is under the root of your domain name (ex: example.com) you do not need to change this line. However, if your OpenCart 2 is installed under a subfolder (ex: example.com/store/) you will need to modify the line to:

RewriteBase /store/

When you have the correct RewriteBase set, please save the file and make sure it is properly uploaded under the root of your OpenCart 2 web directory.

Activate the SEO URLs

To finalize the process, please login your OpenCart 2 admin dashboard and refer to the Settings section via the navigation menu.

From the store list, please click on the edit icon and refer to the Server tab from the top navigation.

From the Server tab locate the Use SEO URLs radio button and set it to 'Yes'. When you are ready with your configuration settings save your changes and check your OpenCart store frontend to make sure that the SEO URLs are properly working.

In case you experience any difficulties, please verify that your .htaccess file is properly uploaded under the OpenCart 2 installation directory and the correct RewriteBase is set in the file.