[thelist] Switching file extensions from .html to .php, SEO consequences?

Phil Turmel turmel-lap at turmel.org
Sat Aug 28 16:54:08 CDT 2004


Rich,

I'd recommend NOT changing the file extensions... just 
change your server to process them through php:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .html .htm
(php as a module under Apache, some cases might need 
AddHandler instead of AddType)

Since PHP will just pass through any html files that have no 
php tags, this gets you going quick.

Mod-rewrite is an alternative if for some reason you must 
put a .php extension on the real copy of the scripts, but 
want them to appear as .html extensions.

Regards,
Phil Turmel

Rich Points wrote:
> Howdy,
> I have a large site with .html file extensions.  I'm developing some database futures that will require the passing of hidden variables.  I will likely do this via php.  I haven't investigated this yet but I'll probably add a line in my .htacess file redirecting .html pages to their .php equivalent.  
> 
> I'm curious how Google will re-index the site.  I suspect this will cause my page rank to drop or disappear but don't I know for sure.  Frankly I'm terrified to see this project through.
> 
> Has anyone done this out there?  I'm looking for advice for the best way to do this.  
> 
> Thanks
> 
> --
> Rich Points
> Rich at RichPoints.com
> http://RichPoints.com


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