What Are MIME Types and How Do You Add Them?

What is a MIME type?

MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. A MIME type is a label for a file. It tells the browser if a file is a web page, a picture, a video or something else. It is like the label on a lunchbox that says what is inside.

Here are some examples.

Why add one?

Sometimes your server does not know a file type. The browser may then show strange text or just download the file. Adding a MIME type fixes this. Newer file types such as fonts are common examples.

Steps: add a MIME type in cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. In the Advanced section, click MIME Types.
3. Find the box called Create a MIME Type.
4. In the MIME Type field, enter the label, for example font/woff2.
5. In the Extension(s) field, enter the file ending without a dot, for example woff2.
6. Click Add.

This tells the server that files ending in .woff2 are fonts.

Steps: add a MIME type with .htaccess

You can also use the .htaccess file. It holds rules for your site. Back it up first.

1. Open File Manager.
2. Open .htaccess in your site folder. Turn on Show Hidden Files if needed.
3. Add this line.

AddType font/woff2 .woff2

This does the same job for that one site.

4. Save the file and test your site.

Quick recap

• A MIME type labels the kind of a file.
• Missing types can make files act wrongly.
• Add them in cPanel under MIME Types.

  

  

  

• Or add an AddType line in .htaccess.