How to Write web.config for WordPress on IIS with Non-Latin URLs
As a WordPress developer, you may encounter situations where you need to display content in non-Latin languages, such as Chinese, Arabic, or Cyrillic scripts. This can be a challenge when hosting your WordPress site on Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) web server.
In this blog post, we'll explore the steps to configure your web.config
file to support non-Latin URLs for your WordPress site running on IIS.
Understanding the Challenge
WordPress is designed to handle non-Latin characters in both the content and the URLs. However, IIS may not be configured to properly process these non-Latin URLs out of the box. This can result in issues such as:
- Non-Latin characters in the URL being displayed as garbled or unreadable text
- WordPress failing to properly generate the correct URLs for non-Latin content
To address these challenges, we need to configure the web.config
file to ensure that IIS correctly handles non-Latin URL requests and properly routes them to the WordPress application.
Configuring the web.config
File
The web.config
file is the IIS configuration file that allows you to customize the behavior of your web application. To support non-Latin URLs for your WordPress site, you'll need to add the following configuration to your web.config
file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
<system.webServer>
<rewrite>
<rules>
<rule name="WordPress: http://yoursite" patternSyntax="Wildcard">
<match url="*" />
<conditions>
<add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsFile" negate="true" />
<add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsDirectory" negate="true" />
</conditions>
<action type="Rewrite" url="index.php" />
</rule>
</rules>
</rewrite>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>
Let's break down the key elements of this configuration:
-
Rewrite Rules: The <rewrite>
section of the web.config
file is where we define the rules for URL rewriting. In this case, we have a single rule named "WordPress: http://yoursite" that will handle all incoming URL requests.
-
Pattern Syntax: The patternSyntax="Wildcard"
attribute tells IIS to use a wildcard pattern matching syntax, which is more flexible than the default regular expression syntax.
-
Conditions: The <conditions>
section specifies the conditions that will trigger the rewrite rule. In this case, we're checking that the requested URL is not for an existing file or directory, which ensures that all non-existing URLs are redirected to the index.php
file.
-
Action: The <action>
section defines the action to take when the rewrite rule is triggered. In this case, we're rewriting the URL to index.php
, which is the main entry point for the WordPress application.
By adding this configuration to your web.config
file, IIS will properly handle non-Latin URL requests and route them to your WordPress application.
Addressing URL Encoding Issues
However, there's one more step you may need to take to ensure that non-Latin URLs are correctly processed by WordPress. In some cases, IIS may not properly pass the original, unencoded URL to the WordPress application, which can cause issues with URL handling.
To address this, you can add the following code to your index.php
file, located in the root directory of your WordPress site:
if (isset($_SERVER['UNENCODED_URL'])) {
$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] = $_SERVER['UNENCODED_URL'];
}
This code checks if the UNENCODED_URL
server variable is set, and if so, it updates the $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']
variable to use the unencoded URL. This helps ensure that WordPress can correctly process the non-Latin URL.
Verifying the Configuration
To test your configuration, try accessing your WordPress site using a non-Latin URL, such as http://yoursite.com/中文页面
. If the configuration is working correctly, you should be able to access the non-Latin content without any issues.
You can also use tools like W3C Link Checker or Screaming Frog SEO Spider to crawl your WordPress site and check for any URL-related issues.
Conclusion
Configuring your web.config
file to support non-Latin URLs for your WordPress site on IIS can be a crucial step in ensuring a seamless user experience for your international visitors. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can ensure that your WordPress site properly handles and displays non-Latin content, improving accessibility and user engagement.
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