Turn On SEO-Friendly URLs in OpenCart

What is an SEO URL?

A URL is the address of a page. SEO means helping search engines such as Google understand your site. An SEO URL is a clean address with words, like /blue-shoes. The ugly version looks like index.php?route=product/product&product_id=40.

Clean addresses are easier to read, remember and share.

Steps

Part 1: Enable the rewrite file

OpenCart uses a file called .htaccess. It holds rules that turn clean addresses into real pages. OpenCart ships it under another name so it does not run by accident.

1. Log in to the client area and open your control panel.
2. Open File Manager. Go to your OpenCart folder.
3. Find the file .htaccess.txt. If you cannot see it, click Settings and turn on Show Hidden Files.
4. Right-click it and choose Rename. Change the name to .htaccess.
5. If your store is in a sub-folder, open the file with Edit. Find the line RewriteBase / and change it to your folder, such as RewriteBase /shop/.

Part 2: Turn it on in the admin area

1. Log in to your OpenCart admin area.
2. Click System, then Settings.
3. Click the Edit button next to your store.
4. Open the Server tab.
5. Find Use SEO URLs and choose Yes.
6. Click Save.

Part 3: Give each page a keyword

1. Open a product, category or information page for editing.
2. Find the SEO tab. In some versions it is a box on the Data tab.
3. Type a short keyword in lowercase. Use dashes instead of spaces, like blue-shoes.
4. Click Save.

If pages show "Not Found"

This often means the .htaccess file is missing or has the wrong name. Check Part 1 again. If it still fails, open a ticket with Hostvento support at the support page.

Quick recap

• Rename .htaccess.txt to .htaccess.
• Set Use SEO URLs to Yes in System, Settings, Server.
• Add a unique keyword to each product and category.
• Check that pages open.