Changing "Index.htm" to "index.php"

Will it affect my ranking in Google etc?

[sandpetra]

I want to chenge my website (9 months old - Google PR 5) to a more dynamic template driven system using PHP. Whats the best method of doing this.

I only want to change the home page at the moment, so severside instruction might not suffice - or will it.

The main issue is I do not want the site to take a hit in terms of PR.

[wsmeyer]

If you have access to the .htaccess file on your server you can have .htm files processed the same as php files.

Most people that use PHP, will use it on every page, but keep in mind that doing this will send ALL .htm files through the PHP processor. If your site has a lot of .htm files that don't contain any PHP script this is going to cause unnecessary server load.

[sandpetra]

Very interesting. How do I do this if I may be so bold to ask?:)

[encyclo]

In the .htaccess file you put the following:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .htm

This will mean all .htm files will be parsed for PHP.

[sandpetra]

What if I am currently using the.htacccess file to 301 direct old pages?

Can I add more commands?

[wsmeyer]

On the server there is a file named .htaccess - not all hosts give access to this file. In the file you'll find this line:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

that tells the server to send all .php files through the PHP processor. You can add extensions to it like this:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .htm .html

William.