So what changed? WP Engine will drop support for the root file .htaccess. This is not uncommon, and several web servers, such as NGINX, do not support htaccess, and Really Simple SSL still works.
What is htaccess?
The .htaccess file is a configuration file in the root of your domain that contains configurations for your webserver. Some configurations can be;
- Cache-control
- Rewriting URL’s
- Blocking IP Addresses
- Implementing HTTPS / HSTS
Really Simple SSL, and WordPress as well, can use htaccess to store configurations for their respective functionalities. Below we will explain what changes for Really Simple SSL users, both Free and Pro, when WP Engine drops support.
Changes for Really Simple SSL Pro
These changes only occur when the settings were enabled before the recent update. The functionality will not change.
- Your enabled security headers are now disabled in htaccess and are defaulted to security header with PHP. PHP is the server-side programming language for WordPress.
- Your htaccess redirect will default to the built-in WordPress redirect.
You can ask your WP Engine Support Desk to add your specific config rules to the NGINX config file. More about security headers for NGINX can be found here.
Changes for Really Simple SSL Free
These changes only occur when the settings were enabled before the recent update. The functionality will not change.
- Your htaccess redirect will default to the built-in WordPress redirect.
