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This could really go into several language categories. I use Dreamweaver to primarily generate the HTMLand CSS I need. (of course I tweak it manually. Sometimes I even forget Dreamweaver's capabilities and hard code things anyway. But i digress...I'm looking ot make extension-less web pages for a few reasons. How do I go about doing that?

I appreciate all help in advance.

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Dani AI

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mentioned ending up with a solution; below is a concise, practical summary of the common ways to serve extension-less pages and the pitfalls to avoid.

For static sites the simplest option is directories with index files (example: serve /about/ from /about/index.html). For dynamic sites the usual pattern is a front controller + server rewrite: send requests that do not match real files to a single script (index.php, app.js) and let the app parse the path. Typical server rules look like this.

# Apache (.htaccess)
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.+)$ index.php [L,QSA]
# Nginx (server block)
location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}

Notes and cautions:

  • Apache MultiViews (mod_negotiation) can also map /page to /page.html with Options +MultiViews but it sometimes causes unexpected matches; prefer explicit rewrites for predictable behavior.
  • Mind relative links and resource paths. Use site-root relative links (starting with /) or update HTML/CSS so images, scripts, and styles load whether the URL shows an extension or not.
  • When migrating from extension URLs add 301 redirects from old URLs to the new extension-less ones to avoid duplicate-content and to preserve SEO.
  • Test rewrites on a local server (MAMP/XAMPP, local Nginx) before deploying. Clear caches and verify response codes and canonical URLs.

Authoritative references for implementation details:
Apache mod_rewrite
Apache mod_negotiation (MultiViews)
Nginx try_files
IIS URL Rewrite Module

Member Avatar for Reliable

I ended up solving my own problem.

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