Fixing 404 Errors on Shared Hosting for React JS Websites: A Simple Guide

If you're running a React JS website on shared hosting, you may encounter issues with client-side routing. Specifically, when you reload any page other than the homepage, you may see a 404 error.

This error can occur when your web server is not properly configured to handle React Router's client-side routing. Fortunately, there's a simple fix that you can implement to resolve this issue.

If you're using Apache as your web server, you can create an .htaccess file in the root directory of your website and add the following code:

# Code For React JS
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteBase /
  RewriteRule ^index\.html$ - [L]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-l
  RewriteRule . /index.html [L]
</IfModule>

This code sets up a catch-all route that directs all requests that are not for an actual file or directory on your server to your main index.html file, which contains your React app.

If you're using a different web server, you'll need to look up how to set up a catch-all route for your specific server.

Once you've configured your web server, reload your website and try navigating to a different page. If everything is working correctly, you should no longer see the 404 error.

In summary, to resolve 404 errors when running a React JS website on shared hosting, you need to configure your web server to handle client-side routing correctly. Setting up a catch-all route for your main index.html file is a straightforward solution that should work for most web servers.

If you found this post helpful, you might also be interested in checking out my YouTube channel, where I have created videos on related topics. In particular, I have a video on fixing 404 errors for React JS websites on shared hosting, as well as a video on deploying React JS with Headless WordPress on shared hosting. You can find the videos at the following links:

• Deploying React JS with Headless WordPress on Shared Hosting: Watch Now
  
• Fixing 404 Errors on Shared Hosting for React JS Websites: Watch Now
  

Check them out for more helpful tips and insights.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this post has helped you fix any 404 errors you may have been experiencing on your React JS website!