# Server

## Introduction

The **Server** tab contains technical settings that affect the security, performance, and SEO of your OpenCart installation. These options interact directly with your web server and should be configured with care.

## Accessing Server Settings

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Navigate to Settings

Log in to your admin dashboard and go to **System → Settings**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Edit Store

Find your store in the list (usually "Your Store" by default) and click the **Edit** (blue pencil) button on the right.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Select Server Tab

In the store configuration interface, click the **Server** tab.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Configuration Fields

Below are the key fields found in the Server tab:

### Maintenance & SEO

* **Maintenance Mode**: Set to **Yes** to prevent customers from browsing your store while you are making updates. They will see a "Maintenance" message instead. Logged-in administrators can still see the storefront.
* **Use SEO URLs**: Set to **Yes** to enable friendly URLs (e.g., `/iphone` instead of `/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=42`).

### Performance

* **Compression Level**: GZIP compression level (0-9). Higher levels reduce the amount of data sent to the browser but use more CPU resources. A setting of `4` or `5` is usually balanced.

### Error Handling

* **Display Errors**: Set to **No** on live production sites to prevent technical details from being visible to customers.
* **Log Errors**: Set to **Yes** to record system errors in a file for troubleshooting.
* **Error Log Filename**: The name of the file where errors are saved (default is `error.log`).

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Security Risk**: Never set **Display Errors** to "Yes" on a live store. This can expose sensitive server information to malicious users.
{% endhint %}

## Common Tasks

### Enabling Maintenance Mode

When you need to perform updates or changes without customers seeing errors:

1. Navigate to the **Maintenance & SEO** section.
2. Set **Maintenance Mode** to **Yes**.
3. Click **Save**. Your store will now display a maintenance message to everyone except logged-in administrators.

### Activating SEO Friendly URLs

To make your URLs look professional and improve search rankings:

1. Set **Use SEO URLs** to **Yes**.
2. **Crucial Step**: You must rename the file `htaccess.txt` in your OpenCart root directory to `.htaccess`.
3. Ensure each product, category, and information page has a unique **SEO URL** (Keyword) assigned in its respective "SEO" tab.

## Best Practices

<details>

<summary><strong>SEO &#x26; Performance</strong></summary>

**Optimization Tips**

* **SEO URLs**: After enabling this, ensure your `.htaccess` file is correctly configured in your root directory.
* **Compression**: GZIP compression can significantly improve your Google PageSpeed score by reducing the size of HTML, CSS, and JS files.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Maintenance &#x26; Security</strong></summary>

**Safe Updates**

* **Maintenance Mode**: Always enable this when performing major theme updates or installing new extensions to avoid customer errors during the process.

</details>

{% hint style="info" %}
**Error Logs**: If your store is acting strangely or showing a white page, the first place to check is the **Error Log** (found in Maintenance → Error Logs).
{% endhint %}

## Troubleshooting

<details>

<summary><strong>SEO URLs are not working (404 Error)</strong></summary>

**.htaccess and Server Config**

* **Check .htaccess**: Ensure you have renamed `htaccess.txt` to `.htaccess`.
* **Apache Rewrite**: Verify that your web server has the `mod_rewrite` module enabled.
* **RewriteBase**: If your store is in a subfolder (e.g., `yourstore.com/shop/`), you may need to edit `.htaccess` and set `RewriteBase /shop/`.
* **Keyword Uniqueness**: Ensure the SEO keyword you are using is not already taken by another product or category.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>The Store is showing a "White Page" (Blank)</strong></summary>

**Error Diagnostics**

* **Enable Error Logging**: Ensure **Log Errors** is set to **Yes**.
* **Check Error Logs**: Go to **System → Maintenance → Error Logs** to see the specific PHP error causing the crash.
* **Display Errors**: Temporarily set **Display Errors** to **Yes** (only on a development site) to see the error directly on the screen.

</details>

> "The Server settings are the protective walls and high-performance engine of your store. Balancing security with speed ensures a safe and fast experience for your users."


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.opencart.com/admin-interface/system/settings/server.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.