How to Remove .php, .html, .htm Extensions with .htaccess (SEO-Friendly URLs)

Want cleaner, more professional-looking URLs for your website? Stripping file extensions like .php, .html, or .htm not only improves SEO and aesthetics, but it also future-proofs your site’s URLs. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use .htaccess to hide file extensions from your URLs on Apache servers.

Prerequisites

• Your site is hosted on an Apache server
• You have mod_rewrite enabled (usually enabled by default)
• Basic knowledge of FTP or cPanel file manager

Step 1: Create or Edit Your .htaccess File

1. Go to your website’s root directory (usually public_html).
2. Look for a file named .htaccess. If it doesn’t exist, create a new file and name it .htaccess.

Important: Make sure your text editor doesn’t save it as .htaccess.txt.

Step 2: Enable mod_rewrite

Add the following code at the top of your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On

Step 3: Remove .php Extension

Add this rewrite rule:

# Remove .php extension
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.php -f
RewriteRule ^([^/]+)/?$ $1.php [L]

Example: https://example.com/about loads about.php

Step 4: Remove .html and .htm Extensions

Add these rules below the previous one:

# Remove .html extension
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.html -f
RewriteRule ^([^/]+)/?$ $1.html [L]

# Remove .htm extension
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.htm -f
RewriteRule ^([^/]+)/?$ $1.htm [L]

Examples:

• https://example.com/contact → contact.html
• https://example.com/info → info.htm

Step 5: Redirect Visitors from Extension URLs to Extension-less URLs (Optional)

This will redirect old URLs like about.php to /about using a 301 redirect:

# Redirect .php to extension-less
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,}\s([^.]+)\.php [NC]
RewriteRule ^ %1 [R=301,L]

# Redirect .html to extension-less
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,}\s([^.]+)\.html [NC]
RewriteRule ^ %1 [R=301,L]

# Redirect .htm to extension-less
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,}\s([^.]+)\.htm [NC]
RewriteRule ^ %1 [R=301,L]

Step 6: Test Your URLs

• Visit https://yourdomain.com/about
• Make sure it loads the corresponding about.php, about.html, or about.htm file
• Old links should redirect correctly if step 5 is included

Troubleshooting

• 500 Internal Server Error? Check for typos and ensure AllowOverride All is set in Apache config.
• Changes not working? Clear your browser cache and confirm mod_rewrite is enabled.

Final Thoughts

Removing file extensions using .htaccess makes your URLs look clean, professional, and SEO-friendly. With just a few lines of code, you can enhance your website's usability and maintainability.

Got Questions?

Drop them in the comments. Happy coding!