Permalink Enlightenment

I recently enabled the permalinks feature for a fresh WordPress 2.0.2 upgrade. The process required several hours of research and approximately 90 minutes to fully implement. This brief article summarizes the process and applies to the following setup:

1. WordPress 2.0.2 or better
2. Apache Server with mod_rewrite enabled
3. The ability to modify your site’s .htaccess file(s)

Also, in this tutorial, I will be using the following permalink structure:

/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/

If you are using some other structure, simple replace any instances of the above code with whatever it is you are using.

Before diving in..

Permalinks are important for several reasons: search engines love them, people can understand them, and links (theoretically) become permanent because of them. Plus, all of the cool kids are using them, so you should too. They really add the finishing touches to your site and provide a sense of unity and sophistication that the http://ugly-domain.com/blog/index.php?page_id=66 format just can’t match.

Before you begin any changes it is highly recommended to backup everything: WordPress files, database(s), notes, edited files, image files, htaccess file(s), etcetera. Just a friendly reminder.

Then, if you are seriously considering jumping into permalinks, do some research. Search Google, Ask, WordPress, and dig through a few blogs for terms such as “WordPress permalinks”, “permalink tips”, “permalink guide”, etc. As you learn, copy and paste any important notes, code, or links that seem important and may be useful later on. You may also wish to anticipate certain scenarios by searching for “permalink nightmare” or “permalink success”, for example.

Getting started

Now that you have studied the process, you realize that certain conditions produce errors or other problems. For example, if you are planning on using the %postname% in your permalinks, very long post titles may cause problems in emails, posts, and chats. Although such an issue may be fixed after the fact, it is wise to scan through your posts and edit the post slug of any posts with excessively long titles. Regardless of the post title name, it is the post slug that is used when implementing the %postname% in permalinks. If possible, I recommend manually checking every post title and slug and editing (if needed) with permalinks %postname% in mind. Don’t forget to check your pages as well.

Now for the fun stuff. Well, almost. WordPress 2.0.2 has a problem writing to .htaccess files even when their CHMOD is set to 666 or 777. To fix this, open wp-includes/vars.php and replace the following line of code:

$is_apache = ( strstr($_SERVER['SERVER_SOFTWARE'], 'Apache') || strstr($_SERVER['SERVER_SOFTWARE'], 'LiteSpeed') ) ? 1 : 0;

..with this one:

$is_apache = 1;

This is a change that should be needed only during the establishment of permalinks. After you have permalinks flying high, you should revert the previous replacement and restore order to the galaxy.

Now create your .htaccess file. Open a text editor and save a blank document named htaccess in the root of your site. Then rename it to .htaccess (i.e., put a dot before the name). Upload this file and change its CHMOD setting to 666. Again, this change should only endure until permalinks are functioning. So remember to change it back to its default setting (typically 644). Here is a complete guide to creating .htaccess files.

The fun part

Okay, get ready to party. First restart your computer (for good measure). Then, open your WordPress Admin and navigate to the Permalinks submenu (under Options). Read everything carefully and then select the “Date and name based” option under the “Common options” menu. Make sure that WordPress automatically added /%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/ (or that of your preferred format) to the “Custom structure” field. Now click “Update Permalink Structure” and wait for the “success” message to appear. At this point, permalinks should work throughout your WordPress-powered website.

Almost done. Check everything. First download your htaccess file and verify that WordPress added the htaccess directives required to create permalinks:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /press/
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /press/index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

If you don’t see it, then copy and paste it into your htaccess file manually. If your htaccess file is blank, permalinks will not work. Once your htaccess file is good to go, clear your browser cache and surf your entire site — pages, posts — everything. Check internal links and external links. If possible, check links pointing to your site from elsewhere online. Every page or post should now be addressed by its corresponding and unique permalink, as displayed in your browser’s address field. If all is looking smooth, great. Remember to check the functionality of everything: commenting, posting, tagging, and editing posts. Also check your calendar, archives, search function, different themes, and plugin features (if any).

Final notes

One problem I encountered (besides those inherently addressed in this article) involved an unwanted index.php statement included before the date in all permalinks. To fix this, you must access the wp_options table in your WordPress database. Once there, find the index field called option_name and search for the record rewrite_rules and clear the contents of the option_value. This will force WordPress to generate new permalink values based on current user settings. Read more via this thread at the WordPress Support Forums.

Important: Don’t forget to reverse any changes made during the permalink conversion process.

About the Author

Jeff Starr = Creative thinker. Passionate about free and open Web.