htmonitor

.htaccess File Documentation

Overview

This .htaccess file implements a sophisticated geo-redirection system for a WordPress website using LiteSpeed server. It automatically redirects users to country-specific subdirectories based on their geographic location while maintaining SEO-friendly URLs and proper caching mechanisms.

File Structure
Section-by-Section Analysis
Geo-Redirection Flow Diagram
Country Codes and Mappings
Technical Implementation Details
LiteSpeed Cache Configuration
WordPress Integration

File Structure

The .htaccess file is organized into several distinct sections:

📁 .htaccess Structure
├── 🚫 Exclusion Rules (Lines 3-19)
├── 🌍 Geo-Redirection Rules (Lines 21-90)
├── ⚡ LiteSpeed Cache Configuration (Lines 92-134)
├── 🗂️ Browser Cache Settings (Lines 135-176)
├── 🔧 WordPress Core Rules (Lines 178-192)
└── 🚀 LiteSpeed Module Settings (Lines 193-200)

Section-by-Section Analysis

🚫 Section 1: Exclusion Rules (Lines 3-19)

This section prevents certain URLs from being processed by the geo-redirection system.

Lines 3-4: WordPress Core File Protection

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/wp-load\.php$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ - [L]

Explanation:

Line 3: Checks if the requested URI exactly matches /wp-load.php (case-insensitive)
Line 4: If matched, do nothing (-) and stop processing ([L] = Last rule)
Purpose: Protects WordPress core file from redirection

Lines 6-7: SEO Files Protection

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/robots\.txt$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ - [L]

Explanation:

Line 6: Checks for exact match of /robots.txt
Line 7: Bypasses redirection for robots.txt
Purpose: Ensures search engines can access robots.txt at root level

Lines 9-10: Sitemap Protection

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/sitemap_index\.xml$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ - [L]

Explanation:

Line 9: Protects the main sitemap index file
Line 10: Prevents redirection of sitemap files
Purpose: Maintains SEO integrity for XML sitemaps

Lines 11-13: Commented Country Code Exclusion

# Exclude if URL contains a country code
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/(au|at|ca|fr|de|ie|it|ch|es|uk|us|lu|li)(/|$) [NC]
# RewriteRule ^ - [L]

Explanation:

Commented out: This rule would prevent redirection if URL already contains a country code
Purpose: Would avoid infinite redirects (currently handled differently)

Lines 15-19: WordPress Admin Protection

# Exclude if URL contains wp-json or wp-admin
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (wp-json|wp-admin|wp-login|wp-content|wp-includes|wc-admin) [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !wc-api [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !wp-json [NC]
RewriteRule ^ - [L]

Explanation:

Line 16: Matches WordPress admin and API URLs
Line 17: Exception for WooCommerce API (!wc-api = NOT wc-api)
Line 18: Exception for wp-json API
Line 19: Skip redirection for WordPress admin areas
Purpose: Prevents breaking WordPress functionality

🌍 Section 2: Geo-Redirection Rules (Lines 21-90)

This is the core geo-redirection system that routes users based on their country.

Lines 21-23: USA (No Redirect)

# USA (no redirect, just pass through)
RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^US$
RewriteRule ^ - [L]

Explanation:

Line 22: Checks if user’s country is US
Line 23: No redirection for US users (they stay on root domain)
Purpose: US is the default/primary market

Lines 25-29: Australia Redirection

# Australia
RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^AU$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/(au|at|ca|fr|de|ie|it|ch|es|uk|us|lu|li|ch-fr|ch-it|ca-fr)(/|$) [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !wp-json [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /au/$1 [R=302,L,QSA]

Explanation:

Line 26: Matches Australian users (GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE = AU)
Line 27: Ensures URL doesn’t already contain a country code
Line 28: Excludes wp-json API calls
Line 29: Redirects to /au/ subdirectory with 302 redirect, preserving query strings
Purpose: Routes Australian users to localized content

Pattern Repeats for Each Country:

Austria (AT) → /at/ (Lines 31-35)
Canada (CA) → /ca/ (Lines 37-41)
**France & Luxembourg (FR LU)** → /fr/ (Lines 43-47)
Germany (DE) → /de/ (Lines 49-53)
Ireland (IE) → /ie/ (Lines 55-59)
Italy (IT) → /it/ (Lines 61-65)
**Switzerland & Liechtenstein (CH LI)** → /ch/ (Lines 67-71)
Spain (ES) → /es/ (Lines 73-77)

Lines 79-84: UK & Default Fallback

# United Kingdom & Default
RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^GB$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} !^(AU|AT|CA|FR|DE|IE|IT|CH|LI|ES|GB|US|LU)$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/(au|at|ca|fr|de|ie|it|ch|es|uk|us|lu|li|ch-fr|ch-it|ca-fr)(/|$) [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !uk [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /uk/$1 [R=302,L,QSA]

Explanation:

Line 80: Matches UK users (GB) OR
Line 81: Any country NOT in the supported list (fallback)
Line 82: URL doesn’t already contain country code
Line 83: URL doesn’t already contain ‘uk’
Line 84: Redirect to /uk/ subdirectory
Purpose: UK users + fallback for unsupported countries

Lines 86-90: Empty GeoIP Fallback

# If no GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE is set, redirect to /uk/ as default
RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/(au|at|ca|fr|de|ie|it|ch|es|uk|us|lu|li|ch-fr|ch-it|ca-fr)(/|$) [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !wp-json [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /uk/$1 [R=302,L,QSA]

Explanation:

Line 87: Checks if GeoIP country code is empty
Line 88: URL doesn’t contain country code
Line 89: Not a wp-json API call
Line 90: Default redirect to UK
Purpose: Safety net when GeoIP detection fails

⚡ Section 3: LiteSpeed Cache Configuration (Lines 92-134)

Advanced caching configuration for LiteSpeed server.

Lines 94-99: Core Cache Settings

<IfModule LiteSpeed>
RewriteEngine on
CacheLookup on
RewriteRule .* - [E=Cache-Control:no-autoflush]
RewriteRule litespeed/debug/.*\.log$ - [F,L]
RewriteRule \.litespeed_conf\.dat - [F,L]

Explanation:

Line 95: Enable rewrite engine within LiteSpeed module
Line 96: Enable cache lookup
Line 97: Set cache control to prevent auto-flush
Line 98: Forbid access to LiteSpeed debug logs
Line 99: Forbid access to LiteSpeed config files
Purpose: Core caching functionality and security

Lines 101-105: Async Processing

### marker ASYNC start ###
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /wp-admin/admin-ajax\.php
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} action=async_litespeed
RewriteRule .* - [E=noabort:1]
### marker ASYNC end ###

Explanation:

Line 102: Matches WordPress AJAX admin calls
Line 103: Specifically for LiteSpeed async actions
Line 104: Set environment variable to prevent connection abort
Purpose: Optimize AJAX performance

Lines 107-110: Mobile Detection

### marker MOBILE start ###
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Mobile|Android|Silk/|Kindle|BlackBerry|Opera\ Mini|Opera\ Mobi [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [E=Cache-Control:vary=%{ENV:LSCACHE_VARY_VALUE}+ismobile]
### marker MOBILE end ###

Explanation:

Line 108: Detects mobile user agents
Line 109: Creates separate cache for mobile users
Purpose: Mobile-optimized caching

### marker LOGIN COOKIE start ###
RewriteRule .? - [E="Cache-Vary:wp-wpml_current_language,,wp-postpass_4c6019f2292405368530c583968c4201"]
### marker LOGIN COOKIE end ###

Explanation:

Line 113: Sets cache variation for logged-in users and WPML language
Purpose: Personalized content caching

Lines 116-121: WebP Image Support

### marker WEBP start ###
RewriteCond %{HTTP_ACCEPT} image/webp [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} iPhone.*Version/(1[4-9]|[2-9][0-9]|[1-9][0-9]{2,}).*Safari [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Firefox/([6-9][0-9]|[1-9][0-9]{2,})
RewriteRule .* - [E=Cache-Control:vary=%{ENV:LSCACHE_VARY_VALUE}+webp]
### marker WEBP end ###

Explanation:

Line 117: Browser accepts WebP images OR
Line 118: Modern iPhone Safari OR
Line 119: Modern Firefox browser
Line 120: Create separate cache for WebP-capable browsers
Purpose: Optimized image delivery

Lines 123-130: Query String Cleanup

### marker DROPQS start ###
CacheKeyModify -qs:fbclid
CacheKeyModify -qs:gclid
CacheKeyModify -qs:utm*
CacheKeyModify -qs:_ga
CacheKeyModify -qs:clickid
CacheKeyModify -qs:mpid
### marker DROPQS end ###

Explanation:

Lines 124-129: Remove tracking parameters from cache keys
Purpose: Improve cache hit rates by ignoring tracking parameters

🗂️ Section 4: Browser Cache Settings (Lines 135-176)

Long-term browser caching for static assets.

Lines 138-172: File Type Expiration

<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive on
ExpiresByType application/pdf A31557600
ExpiresByType image/x-icon A31557600
# ... (multiple file types)
</IfModule>

Explanation:

A31557600: 1 year expiration (31,557,600 seconds)
File Types Covered: PDFs, images, videos, CSS, JavaScript, fonts
Purpose: Reduce server load and improve page speed

🔧 Section 5: WordPress Core Rules (Lines 178-192)

Standard WordPress rewrite rules.

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

Explanation:

Line 184: Pass HTTP authorization headers
Line 185: Set base directory
Line 186: Don’t rewrite direct index.php calls
Lines 187-189: Route all requests to index.php if file/directory doesn’t exist
Purpose: WordPress permalink functionality

🚀 Section 6: LiteSpeed Module Settings (Lines 193-200)

Additional LiteSpeed configuration.

<IfModule Litespeed>
SetEnv noabort 1
</IfModule>

Explanation:

Line 198: Prevent connection abort for long-running processes
Purpose: Improve reliability for complex operations

Geo-Redirection Flow Diagram

graph TD
    A[User Request] --> B{Is wp-load.php?}
    B -->|Yes| C[Allow - No Redirect]
    B -->|No| D{Is robots.txt?}
    D -->|Yes| C
    D -->|No| E{Is sitemap_index.xml?}
    E -->|Yes| C
    E -->|No| F{Is WordPress Admin/API?}
    F -->|Yes| C
    F -->|No| G{Country Code = US?}
    G -->|Yes| C
    G -->|No| H{Country Code = AU?}
    H -->|Yes| I{URL has country code?}
    I -->|Yes| C
    I -->|No| J[Redirect to /au/]
    H -->|No| K{Country Code = AT?}
    K -->|Yes| L{URL has country code?}
    L -->|Yes| C
    L -->|No| M[Redirect to /at/]
    K -->|No| N{Country Code = CA?}
    N -->|Yes| O{URL has country code?}
    O -->|Yes| C
    O -->|No| P[Redirect to /ca/]
    N -->|No| Q{Country Code = FR or LU?}
    Q -->|Yes| R{URL has country code?}
    R -->|Yes| C
    R -->|No| S[Redirect to /fr/]
    Q -->|No| T{Country Code = DE?}
    T -->|Yes| U{URL has country code?}
    U -->|Yes| C
    U -->|No| V[Redirect to /de/]
    T -->|No| W{Country Code = IE?}
    W -->|Yes| X{URL has country code?}
    X -->|Yes| C
    X -->|No| Y[Redirect to /ie/]
    W -->|No| Z{Country Code = IT?}
    Z -->|Yes| AA{URL has country code?}
    AA -->|Yes| C
    AA -->|No| BB[Redirect to /it/]
    Z -->|No| CC{Country Code = CH or LI?}
    CC -->|Yes| DD{URL has country code?}
    DD -->|Yes| C
    DD -->|No| EE[Redirect to /ch/]
    CC -->|No| FF{Country Code = ES?}
    FF -->|Yes| GG{URL has country code?}
    GG -->|Yes| C
    GG -->|No| HH[Redirect to /es/]
    FF -->|No| II{Country Code = GB or Unknown?}
    II -->|Yes| JJ{URL has country code?}
    JJ -->|Yes| C
    JJ -->|No| KK[Redirect to /uk/]
    II -->|No| LL{No GeoIP Data?}
    LL -->|Yes| MM{URL has country code?}
    MM -->|Yes| C
    MM -->|No| NN[Default Redirect to /uk/]
    
    style A fill:#e1f5fe
    style C fill:#c8e6c9
    style J fill:#fff3e0
    style M fill:#fff3e0
    style P fill:#fff3e0
    style S fill:#fff3e0
    style V fill:#fff3e0
    style Y fill:#fff3e0
    style BB fill:#fff3e0
    style EE fill:#fff3e0
    style HH fill:#fff3e0
    style KK fill:#fff3e0
    style NN fill:#ffcdd2

Country Codes and Mappings

Country Code	Country/Region	Redirect Path	Notes
`US`	United States	No redirect	Primary market
`AU`	Australia	`/au/`
`AT`	Austria	`/at/`
`CA`	Canada	`/ca/`
`FR`	France	`/fr/`	Also handles Luxembourg
`LU`	Luxembourg	`/fr/`	Shares French content
`DE`	Germany	`/de/`
`IE`	Ireland	`/ie/`
`IT`	Italy	`/it/`
`CH`	Switzerland	`/ch/`	Also handles Liechtenstein
`LI`	Liechtenstein	`/ch/`	Shares Swiss content
`ES`	Spain	`/es/`
`GB`	United Kingdom	`/uk/`	Also default fallback
Unknown	Any other country	`/uk/`	Default fallback
No GeoIP	GeoIP failure	`/uk/`	Safety net

Special Language Variants

The system also supports these language-specific paths (though not actively redirected to):

/ch-fr/ - Switzerland (French)
/ch-it/ - Switzerland (Italian)
/ca-fr/ - Canada (French)

Technical Implementation Details

GeoIP Integration

Uses %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} environment variable
Requires GeoIP module on server
Falls back to UK if GeoIP unavailable

Redirect Strategy

302 Temporary Redirects: Allows flexibility for testing and changes
QSA Flag: Query String Append - preserves URL parameters
L Flag: Last rule - stops processing after match

Cache Optimization

Mobile Detection: Separate cache for mobile users
WebP Support: Optimized image delivery
Query String Cleanup: Better cache hit rates
Long Expiration: 1-year browser cache for static assets

WordPress Integration

Protects admin areas from redirection
Maintains API functionality
Preserves permalink structure
Handles authorization headers

Performance Considerations

Cache Hit Rate Optimization

Query Parameter Removal: Tracking parameters don’t affect cache keys
Mobile Separation: Different cache for mobile/desktop
WebP Variants: Separate cache for modern browsers
User Context: Logged-in users get personalized cache

SEO Benefits

Country-Specific Content: Better local search rankings
Proper Redirects: 302 redirects preserve link equity
Robots.txt Protection: Search engines find sitemap correctly
Clean URLs: Tracking parameters don’t create duplicate content

Security Features

Debug Log Protection: LiteSpeed logs are forbidden
Config File Protection: Server configuration files blocked
Admin Area Protection: WordPress admin remains functional

Troubleshooting Guide

Common Issues

Infinite Redirects
- Check if URL already contains country code
- Verify exclusion rules are working
WordPress Admin Issues
- Ensure wp-admin exclusion rules are active
- Check wp-json API accessibility
Cache Problems
- Verify LiteSpeed module is loaded
- Check cache vary headers
GeoIP Not Working
- Confirm GeoIP module installation
- Test with manual country code setting

Testing Commands

# Test geo-redirection
curl -I https://tradik.com/ -H "X-Forwarded-For: 1.2.3.4"

# Test with Google Bot
curl -I https://tradik.com/ -A "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Googlebot/2.1; +http://www.google.com/bot.html)"

# Test specific country
curl -I https://tradik.com/ -H "CF-IPCountry: AU"

Maintenance Notes

Regular Checks

Monitor redirect performance
Verify GeoIP database updates
Check cache hit rates
Test mobile/desktop variants

Updates Required When

Adding new countries
Changing default fallback
Modifying cache strategy
WordPress core updates

This documentation covers the complete .htaccess configuration for the tradik.com geo-redirection system. For technical support or modifications, ensure proper testing in a staging environment first.

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htmonitor

.htaccess File Documentation

Overview

Table of Contents

File Structure

Section-by-Section Analysis

🚫 Section 1: Exclusion Rules (Lines 3-19)

Lines 3-4: WordPress Core File Protection

Lines 6-7: SEO Files Protection

Lines 9-10: Sitemap Protection

Lines 11-13: Commented Country Code Exclusion

Lines 15-19: WordPress Admin Protection

🌍 Section 2: Geo-Redirection Rules (Lines 21-90)

Lines 21-23: USA (No Redirect)

Lines 25-29: Australia Redirection

Lines 79-84: UK & Default Fallback

Lines 86-90: Empty GeoIP Fallback

⚡ Section 3: LiteSpeed Cache Configuration (Lines 92-134)

Lines 94-99: Core Cache Settings

Lines 101-105: Async Processing

Lines 107-110: Mobile Detection

Lines 112-114: Login Cookie Handling

Lines 116-121: WebP Image Support

Lines 123-130: Query String Cleanup

🗂️ Section 4: Browser Cache Settings (Lines 135-176)

Lines 138-172: File Type Expiration

🔧 Section 5: WordPress Core Rules (Lines 178-192)

🚀 Section 6: LiteSpeed Module Settings (Lines 193-200)

Geo-Redirection Flow Diagram

Country Codes and Mappings

Special Language Variants

Technical Implementation Details

GeoIP Integration

Redirect Strategy

Cache Optimization

WordPress Integration

Performance Considerations

Cache Hit Rate Optimization

SEO Benefits

Security Features

Troubleshooting Guide

Common Issues

Testing Commands

Maintenance Notes

Regular Checks

Updates Required When