Exclude a Folder From WordPress Permalinks

What is the problem?

A permalink is the web address of a page, such as yourdomain.com/about. WordPress uses a file named .htaccess to handle these addresses. A folder on your hosting account might hold something that is not WordPress, such as an old app or a test page. WordPress can take over its address and show a 404 error. You can tell WordPress to leave that folder alone.

The .htaccess file is a small settings file on the Apache web server. Its name starts with a dot, so it is hidden by default.

Steps

1. Log in to your hosting control panel. Your welcome email has the details.
2. Open File Manager.
3. Open the folder where WordPress is installed, often public_html.
4. Click Settings at the top right and tick Show Hidden Files.
5. Right-click .htaccess and choose Download to keep a copy.
6. Right-click it again and choose Edit.
7. Find the block that starts with # BEGIN WordPress.
8. Add the new line just under RewriteBase /.
9. Save the file.

Here is how the block looks with the extra line. Change myfolder to your folder name.

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

The new rule says: if the address starts with myfolder/, stop here and do not send it to WordPress. The [L] means "last rule".

Check the result

1. Open yourdomain.com/myfolder/ in your browser.
2. Your folder content should show.
3. Check that your normal WordPress pages still work.

Quick recap

• WordPress can hide real folders behind a 404 page.
• Add a RewriteRule to .htaccess for that folder.
• Always keep a copy of the file before you edit.
• Test the folder and your normal pages afterwards.