Speed ​​up your site with htaccess

htaccess is a powerful configuration file on Apache servers that allows you to fully control the behavior of your site.

One of its important uses is to increase site speed using various optimization techniques. In this article, we will fully discuss the 5 main ways to increase site speed with htaccess .

1. Site content compression (Gzip compression)

Gzip compression can significantly reduce the size of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, thereby dramatically increasing site loading speed. To enable Gzip in htaccess, you can use the following code:

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css text/javascript application/x-javascript application/javascript application/json
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml application/atom+xml
</IfModule>

2. Caching

Caching allows the server to store static versions of pages in memory and serve the cached versions on subsequent requests instead of regenerating them. This reduces the server load and increases the site loading speed.

<FilesMatch "\.(ico|gif|jpg|jpeg|png|css|js)$">
  <IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
    ExpiresByType text/javascript "access plus 1 month"
  </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>

3. Reducing HTTP Requests

Any HTTP request to the server can cause a delay in loading the site. By combining CSS and JavaScript files and using sprite files for images, you can significantly reduce the number of HTTP requests.

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteRule ^(.+)\.css$ /combined.css [L]
  RewriteRule ^(.+)\.js$ /combined.js [L]
</IfModule>

We have already written a comprehensive article about increasing the speed of entering the site , which you can read if you wish.

4. Prevention of Hotlinking (Hotlinking Prevention)

Hotlinking occurs when another site uses your images without permission, which can increase your server load. You can prevent Hotlinking by using htaccess.

<FilesMatch "\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png)$">
  <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.example\.com|example\.com)(.*)$ [NC]
    RewriteRule . - [F,L]
  </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>

5. Activation of mod_pagespeed (Mod_Pagespeed)

Mod_Pagespeed is a powerful Apache module that automatically optimizes your site’s content to increase loading speed. To enable it, you need to install the module on your server and then use the following code in htaccess.

<IfModule mod_pagespeed.c>
  ModPagespeed on
</IfModule>

Important points:

• Before making changes to htaccess, make a backup copy of your file.
• Always review new code carefully and test it in a test environment before release.
• To get the desired results, you may need to use several techniques at the same time.
• Remember that increasing site speed with htaccess is only one part of your overall site optimization.

By using htaccess optimization techniques, you can significantly increase the speed of your site and provide a better user experience for your visitors.