{"id":14702,"date":"2026-02-19T22:10:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.huntbee.com\/resources\/docs\/seo-xml-sitemap-generator-pro\/htaccess-configuration\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T13:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:03:05","slug":"htaccess-configuration","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/www.huntbee.com\/resources\/docs\/seo-xml-sitemap-generator-pro\/htaccess-configuration\/","title":{"rendered":".htaccess Configuration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The .htaccess<\/code> configuration gives your sitemaps and AI feeds clean, SEO-friendly URLs. Without these rules, sitemaps are still accessible via full OpenCart route URLs, but clean URLs are preferable for search console submissions and readability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

URL Mapping Reference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are the rules the extension adds to your .htaccess<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clean URL<\/th>Purpose<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
\/sitemap_index.xml<\/code><\/td>Master sitemap index<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/{lang}\/product_sitemap_{n}.xml<\/code><\/td>Paginated product sitemaps<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/{lang}\/product_tags_sitemap_{n}.xml<\/code><\/td>Product tag sitemaps<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/{lang}\/category_sitemap.xml<\/code><\/td>Category sitemap<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/{lang}\/brand_sitemap.xml<\/code><\/td>Brand\/manufacturer sitemap<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/{lang}\/information_sitemap.xml<\/code><\/td>Information pages sitemap<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/misc_sitemap.xml<\/code><\/td>Miscellaneous \/ custom links<\/td><\/tr>
\/sitemaps\/{lang}\/journal3blog_sitemap.xml<\/code><\/td>Journal3 blog posts<\/td><\/tr>
\/ai_feed_index.json<\/code><\/td>AI feed manifest (index)<\/td><\/tr>
\/ai-feed\/{lang}\/ai_product_feed_{n}.json<\/code><\/td>Paginated AI product feed pages<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

{lang}<\/code> = your language code (e.g., en<\/code>, fr<\/code>, de<\/code>)
{n}<\/code> = page number<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing Rules from the Admin Panel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The extension provides three tools in the Settings tab \u2192 .htaccess Rules Configuration<\/strong> section:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add Code to .htaccess File<\/strong> Reads your current .htaccess<\/code>, removes any existing HB SEO rules, then inserts the latest rules in the correct position. A backup is automatically saved as .htaccess.sitemap.BACKUP<\/code> before any write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove .htaccess Rules<\/strong> Removes only the lines added by this extension. Your other .htaccess<\/code> content is untouched. Reports how many lines were removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manual .htaccess Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your server does not allow PHP to write to .htaccess<\/code>, copy the code block displayed in the admin panel and paste it into your root .htaccess<\/code> file manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where to place the rules:<\/strong> Place them after the OpenCart system\/storage<\/code> protection RewriteRule<\/code> lines, but before<\/strong> the main OpenCart catch-all rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RewriteRule ^([^?]*) index.php?_route_=$1 [L,QSA]<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Nginx Users<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The extension generates Apache-specific rules. For Nginx, translate each RewriteRule<\/code> into an equivalent location ~ regex<\/code> block with a rewrite<\/code> directive in your server config. Contact your hosting provider for assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
404 on sitemap URLs after adding rules:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Confirm mod_rewrite<\/code> is enabled on your server<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Confirm AllowOverride All<\/code> is set for your web root in the Apache virtual host config<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Check that the rules were actually written (open .htaccess<\/code> in an FTP client and look for lines containing extension\/hbseo\/<\/code>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    500 error after adding rules:<\/strong> Your server may have syntax restrictions. Remove the rules using the admin panel button and add them manually after reviewing the syntax.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":245,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-14702","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n.htaccess Configuration - HuntBee Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huntbee.com\/resources\/docs\/seo-xml-sitemap-generator-pro\/htaccess-configuration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\".htaccess Configuration - HuntBee Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The .htaccess configuration gives your sitemaps and AI feeds clean, SEO-friendly URLs. 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