Website Design Tips - Hypergurl

Recent updates for those who use Hypergurl web hosting services

New Update! Customize Your Web Site Settings with Our .htaccess Editor.

.htaccess is a text file containing commands that instruct Web servers how to behave in certain situations, providing a way for you to make configuration changes on a per-directory basis. Our new .htaccess Editor enables you to customize certain web-site settings for accounts hosted on our Unix platform without having to learn complex .htaccess rules.

If you currently use our Error Page Manager, Password Protector, Application Extension Manager or Open Directory Browsing tools, please note that these tools are no longer listed separately in your Control Panel. Instead this functionality-- and more -- is now grouped together within the .htaccess Editor. Your existing settings work just like they always have; you're just managing them in a different place now, using a cleaner (Ajax) interface.

Plus, you can do so much more! The new .htaccess Editor includes:

Hotlink Protection: Prevent unauthorized URLs from loading files within specified directories at your site, which uses your bandwidth (also called bandwidth theft and leeching). For example, stop other people linking to your images or multimedia files. You can choose to redirect these requests and specify URLs that are allowed to access files at your site.

Custom Error Pages: Redirect visitors to pages that match your site design instead of the standard server error pages (403, 404 or 500). Substitute pages that you designate for the standard server error message pages. Custom error pages are useful when you want error pages to match the overall design of your site.

Password Protection: Restrict access to certain directories by requiring a password to view the contents. Password protect directories with user access lists.

Default Pages: Set default pages on a directory-by-directory basis. Change the home page for a directory from the standard default filenames to a file that you specify. You can also set a prioritized list of default pages. If the first filename listed does not exist, the server will look for the next one, and so on.

Block IP Addresses: Set permissions on who can view your files by blocking specific IP addresses or a range of IP addresses. Block users from specific IP addresses or a range of IP addresses from accessing your site. Blocked users will receive a 403 error - You do not have permission to access this site.

URL Redirect: Redirect requests for a specific file or directory to a new destination. Redirect requests for a specific file or directory to a new destination. If you change your site structure and rename files or directories, redirecting prevents existing links at other sites or in bookmarks from generating 404 - File not found errors. Visitors will be directed to new or renamed files.

MIME Types: MIME types tell Web browsers how to handle certain file extensions. This tool gives you another degree of customization over how visitors interact with your Web site. Add or override system MIME types.

Open Directory Browsing: Control access to the directories of your Web site. If you prefer, you can display the contents of a directory if no default page is specified. Allows you to control access to the directories of your website. By default, directories require an index file (index.html is recommended) to be present in a directory. With this tool, you can choose to display the contents of a directory if no default page is specified.

You will find a link to the new .htaccess editor when you log into your hosting account. Look for it under the heading at the top left that says, Web Site Management.