How Can .htaccess Rewrite Rules Manage Trailing Slashes in URLs?

URL Trailing Slash Handling with Htaccess

When it comes to URL optimization, managing trailing slashes can significantly impact your website's performance and content duplication issues. This article addresses the specific issue faced by a user who seeks to enforce or remove trailing slashes from their website's URL structure. The user provides their current .htaccess code, showcasing the existing rewrite rules.

Adding Trailing Slash

To enforce a policy where all URLs in your website have a trailing slash, you can add the following code right below the RewriteEngine On line:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*[^/])$ // [L,R]

This rule ensures that any URL without a trailing slash will be automatically appended with one. The [L,R] flag specifies that it's the last rule to be applied, and a 301 redirect should be used (for production environment).

Removing Trailing Slash

Conversely, to remove any trailing slashes from your website's URLs, use the following code:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)/$ / [L,R]

In this case, any URL with a trailing slash will be redirected to the same URL without the trailing slash.

Caution with R=301

It's important to note that using the R=301 flag for testing purposes can cause issues with browser caching. It's recommended to use R or R=302 during testing and only switch to R=301 once you're ready to deploy the changes live.

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