Mastering Nginx Configuration for WordPress in Subdirectory: A Developer’s Guide

In this article, we will discuss how to configure WordPress in a subdirectory using NGINX web server. By default, WordPress is installed in the root directory, but sometimes you may want to install it in a subdirectory. This guide will explain the steps required to achieve this configuration.

Optimized Subtitle: Utilizing htaccess for WordPress in Subdirectory on Nginx.

The optimized subtitle “Utilizing htaccess for WordPress in Subdirectory on Nginx” refers to using the htaccess file to configure WordPress installation located in a subdirectory of a web server that uses Nginx as its HTTP server.

To achieve this, the user needs to create a .htaccess file in the subdirectory with the following code:


# BEGIN WordPress

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /subdirectory/
RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /subdirectory/index.php [L]

# END WordPress

This code will allow WordPress to function properly in the subdirectory and enable Apache’s mod_rewrite module, which is necessary for permalinks to work correctly.

Additionally, for users with Nginx as their HTTP server, they can add the following code to their server block to enable support for the .htaccess file:


location /subdirectory/ {
try_files $uri $uri/ /subdirectory/index.php?$args;
}

This code will allow Nginx to read and interpret the htaccess file’s rules in the subdirectory.

Overall, utilizing the htaccess file for WordPress in a subdirectory on Nginx can improve website performance and SEO by enabling permalinks and faster page loading times.

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Is it possible to install WordPress in a subdirectory?

Yes, it is possible to install WordPress in a subdirectory. To do so, you need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Create a subdirectory in your website’s root directory where you want to install WordPress.

Step 2: Download the latest version of WordPress and extract the files.

Step 3: Move all the WordPress files to the subdirectory you created in Step 1.

Step 4: Now, open the .htaccess file in your website’s root directory and add the following code at the top:


RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?example.com$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/subdirectory/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subdirectory/$1
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?example.com$
RewriteRule ^(/)?$ subdirectory/index.php [L]

Replace example.com with your own domain name and subdirectory with the name of the subdirectory you created to install WordPress.

Step 5: Save and upload the .htaccess file to your website’s root directory.

Step 6: Now, go to the WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Settings > General. In the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields, add the subdirectory name preceded by a forward slash. For example, if your subdirectory name is “blog”, then the URLs should look like this:


WordPress Address (URL): http://example.com/blog
Site Address (URL): http://example.com/blog

Step 7: Save the changes and you’re done! You have successfully installed WordPress in a subdirectory.

Note: If you have any existing content on your website’s root directory, make sure to update the links accordingly.

What is the reason for installing WordPress in a subdirectory?

Installing WordPress in a subdirectory can be useful if you want to keep your main website separate from your WordPress installation. This can be especially helpful for developers who are creating a new WordPress site while keeping their existing site active.

Another reason for installing WordPress in a subdirectory is to simplify the migration process. If you plan to migrate an existing website to WordPress, it may be easier to install WordPress in a subdirectory and then move it to the root directory once you are ready to launch.

To install WordPress in a subdirectory, you will need to modify the WordPress .htaccess file to ensure that it is able to handle requests for the subdirectory. You will also need to configure your web server to serve files from the subdirectory.

Keep in mind that installing WordPress in a subdirectory can affect your website’s search engine rankings, so it’s important to properly configure your .htaccess file to handle redirects and ensure that your website’s main pages are indexed correctly.

Is it possible to utilize WordPress with NGINX?

Yes, it is possible to use WordPress with NGINX. While in Apache servers the .htaccess file is used to configure some server settings, in NGINX servers the equivalent is the nginx.conf file. You can find this file in the path /etc/nginx/.

To enable the use of permalinks in WordPress, you must add the following block of code to the server section of the nginx.conf file:

location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}

This code tells NGINX to try to serve the requested URL directly as a file, then as a directory, and if neither are successful, to pass it to the index.php file in the WordPress root directory.

Since NGINX doesn’t support .htaccess files, you’ll need to manually add any other rules or redirects to the nginx.conf file.

Keep in mind that configuring NGINX requires a different approach than configuring Apache, and it’s important to have a good understanding of NGINX before making any changes to the nginx.conf file.

How to configure WordPress multisite on NGINX?

To configure WordPress multisite on NGINX, you will need to modify your server block configuration file. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:

“`
server {
listen 80;
server_name domain.com;

root /var/www/wordpress;
index index.php;

access_log /var/log/nginx/domain.access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/domain.error.log;

# Add the following
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}

# Add the following
location ~ .php$ {
include fastcgi.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock;
}

# Add the following
location ~ /(d+)/files/(.*)$ {
try_files /wp-content/blogs.dir/$1/files/$2 /wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$2;
access_log off; log_not_found off; expires max;
}

# Add the following
rewrite /wp-admin$ $scheme://$host$uri/ permanent;

# Add the following
if (!-e $request_filename) {
rewrite /wp-admin(/[^/]*)? /wp-admin/index.php last;
rewrite /wp-admin$ $scheme://$host$uri/ permanent;
rewrite ^/[_0-9a-zA-Z-]+(/wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $1 last;
rewrite ^/[_0-9a-zA-Z-]+(/.*.php)$ $1 last;
}

# Add the following
location ~* ^.+.(ogg|ogv|svg|svgz|eot|otf|woff|mp4|ttf|rss|atom|jpg|jpeg|gif|png|ico|zip|tgz|gz|rar|bz2|doc|xls|exe|ppt|tar|mid|midi|wav|bmp|rtf)$ {
access_log off; log_not_found off; expires max;
}
}
“`

Step 2: Add the following code to your wp-config.php file:

“`php
/* Multisite */
define(‘WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE’, true);
define(‘MULTISITE’, true);
define(‘SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL’, false);
define(‘DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE’, ‘domain.com’);
define(‘PATH_CURRENT_SITE’, ‘/’);
define(‘SITE_ID_CURRENT_SITE’, 1);
define(‘BLOG_ID_CURRENT_SITE’, 1);
“`

Step 3: After you have added the code to your wp-config.php file, you will need to enable the multisite feature. To do this, go to your WordPress admin dashboard, click on Tools, and then click on Network Setup. Follow the instructions on the page to complete the setup.

That’s it! You should now have a working WordPress multisite installation on NGINX. Remember to test your website thoroughly to ensure that everything is working correctly.

How can I add enabled sites in NGINX?

To add enabled sites in NGINX, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create a new configuration file for your website in the /etc/nginx/sites-available/ directory. For example, if your website is called example.com, the configuration file could be named /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com.

Step 2: Open the configuration file with your preferred text editor and add the server block for your website. This block should include the server name, the root directory for your website files, and any other necessary directives. Here’s an example server block:

“`
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
root /var/www/example.com;
index index.html;
}
“`

Step 3: Save the configuration file and exit your text editor.

Step 4: Create a symbolic link from the configuration file in sites-available to the sites-enabled directory. You can do this with the following command:

“`
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
“`

Step 5: Restart NGINX to apply your changes with the following command:

“`
sudo systemctl restart nginx
“`

Now your website should be enabled in NGINX and accessible through your server’s IP address or domain name.

How do I configure nginx and htaccess for a WordPress site installed in a subdirectory?

To configure nginx and htaccess for a WordPress site installed in a subdirectory, you’ll need to take the following steps:

Step 1: Create a subdirectory for your WordPress installation
Create a subdirectory in your web root for your WordPress installation, e.g. `example.com/blog`.

Step 2: Install WordPress in the subdirectory
Follow the normal WordPress installation process to install it in the subdirectory you created.

Step 3: Update site URL and home URL
In the WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > General and update both the Site URL and Home URL to include the subdirectory, e.g. `example.com/blog`.

Step 4: Edit the nginx configuration file
Edit your nginx configuration file to include the following location block:

“`
location /blog {
index index.php index.html index.htm;
try_files $uri $uri/ /blog/index.php?$args;
}
“`

This block tells nginx to serve files from the `/blog` directory, try to find the requested file, and if it doesn’t exist, pass the request to WordPress’s index.php file.

Step 5: Update your htaccess file
Create or edit your .htaccess file in your WordPress subdirectory to include the following code:

“`

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /blog/
RewriteRule ^index.php$ – [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /blog/index.php [L]

“`

This block tells Apache to use the /blog/ directory as the base, and to send all requests to WordPress’s index.php file.

Step 6: Test your site
Restart your nginx server, then test your site by visiting `example.com/blog`. You should now be able to access your WordPress site installed in a subdirectory.

I hope this helps!

What kind of rules do I need to add to my htaccess file to properly redirect a WordPress site in a subdirectory?

To properly redirect a WordPress site located in a subdirectory, you need to add the following rules to your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
This line enables the URL rewriting engine.

RewriteBase /subdirectory/
This line sets the base path of the URL. Replace “subdirectory” with the actual name of your WordPress subdirectory.

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
These lines check if the requested URL is not a file or directory on the server.

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subdirectory/index.php/$1 [L]
This line redirects all requests to the index.php file in the subdirectory while preserving the original URL parameters. Replace “subdirectory” with the actual name of your WordPress subdirectory.

Here’s what your complete .htaccess file should look like:
“`
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /subdirectory/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subdirectory/index.php/$1 [L]
“`
Make sure to save the file and upload it to the root directory of your website.

Can I use the same htaccess file for multiple WordPress sites in different subdirectories on nginx?

No, you cannot use the same .htaccess file for multiple WordPress sites on nginx. The .htaccess file is specific to Apache web servers and cannot be used by nginx. Instead, you can use nginx’s own configuration files to achieve similar functionality. You will need to create individual server blocks for each WordPress site hosted on your server, and configure them to use the correct root directory and other settings unique to each site. This way, each WordPress site can have its own nginx configuration file and run independently of each other, even if they are hosted in different subdirectories.

In conclusion, setting up WordPress in a subdirectory with Nginx can seem daunting at first, but with the help of htaccess file for web development, it becomes a much easier process. By properly configuring your server blocks and using the correct directives in your htaccess file, you can ensure that your website is accessible from both the root domain and the subdirectory. With the popularity of WordPress as a content management system, this is an essential skill for any web developer to have in their toolkit. So don’t be afraid to give it a try and see just how powerful WordPress and Nginx can be together!