Fix – W3 Total Cache error: It appears Page Cache URL rewriting is not working – Easy Method

If you are using WordPress for your blog and trying to setup W3 Total Cache, you may find that on your Administration page, you are getting this error:

“W3 Total Cache Error: Page Cache Rewriting is URL Not Working. Please verify that the server configuration allows .htaccess”

W3 Total Cache Error

There can be a few reasons for W3 Total Cache Error but you can try this fix to see if it works for you.
First of all, you will need to edit the .htaccess file located at the root of your blog. Once opened you need to ensure that the text you need to add is placed at the very top of the file – this part is critical, do not place towards the end of the file, it absolutely must be at the top, this includes the built-in WordPress text like this:

# BEGIN WordPress  
 <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>  
 RewriteEngine On  
 RewriteBase /  
 RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L]  
 RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f  
 RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d  
 RewriteRule . /index.php [L]  
 </IfModule>  
 # END WordPress

Move above code after W3 Total Cache configuration. or End of the .htaccess file.

Sample Config of W3 Total Cache

# BEGIN W3TC Browser Cache  
 <IfModule mod_deflate.c>  
   <IfModule mod_headers.c>  
     Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary  
   </IfModule>  
     AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css text/x-component application/x-javascript application/javascript text/javascript text/x-js text/html text/richtext image/svg+xml text/plain text/xsd text/xsl text/xml image/x-icon application/json  
   <IfModule mod_mime.c>  
     # DEFLATE by extension  
     AddOutputFilter DEFLATE js css htm html xml  
   </IfModule>  
 </IfModule>  
 # END W3TC Browser Cache  
 # BEGIN W3TC Page Cache core  
 <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>  
   RewriteEngine On  
   RewriteBase /  
   RewriteRule ^(.*/)?w3tc_rewrite_test/?$ $1?w3tc_rewrite_test=1 [L]  
   RewriteCond %{HTTP:Accept-Encoding} gzip  
   RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_ENC:_gzip]  
   RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} w3tc_preview [NC]  
   RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_PREVIEW:_preview]  
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} !=POST  
   RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} =""  
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /$  
   RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !(comment_author|wp-postpass|w3tc_logged_out|wordpress_logged_in|wptouch_switch_toggle) [NC]  
   RewriteCond "%{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/%{HTTP_HOST}/%{REQUEST_URI}/_index%{ENV:W3TC_PREVIEW}.html%{ENV:W3TC_ENC}" -f  
   RewriteRule .* "/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/%{HTTP_HOST}/%{REQUEST_URI}/_index%{ENV:W3TC_PREVIEW}.html%{ENV:W3TC_ENC}" [L]  
 </IfModule>  
 # END W3TC Page Cache core

So now your .htaccess file looks like below

# BEGIN W3TC Browser Cache  
 <IfModule mod_deflate.c>  
   <IfModule mod_headers.c>  
     Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary  
   </IfModule>  
     AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css text/x-component application/x-javascript application/javascript text/javascript text/x-js text/html text/richtext image/svg+xml text/plain text/xsd text/xsl text/xml image/x-icon application/json  
   <IfModule mod_mime.c>  
     # DEFLATE by extension  
     AddOutputFilter DEFLATE js css htm html xml  
   </IfModule>  
 </IfModule>  
 # END W3TC Browser Cache  
 # BEGIN W3TC Page Cache core  
 <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>  
   RewriteEngine On  
   RewriteBase /  
   RewriteRule ^(.*/)?w3tc_rewrite_test/?$ $1?w3tc_rewrite_test=1 [L]  
   RewriteCond %{HTTP:Accept-Encoding} gzip  
   RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_ENC:_gzip]  
   RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} w3tc_preview [NC]  
   RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_PREVIEW:_preview]  
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} !=POST  
   RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} =""  
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /$  
   RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !(comment_author|wp-postpass|w3tc_logged_out|wordpress_logged_in|wptouch_switch_toggle) [NC]  
   RewriteCond "%{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/%{HTTP_HOST}/%{REQUEST_URI}/_index%{ENV:W3TC_PREVIEW}.html%{ENV:W3TC_ENC}" -f  
   RewriteRule .* "/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/%{HTTP_HOST}/%{REQUEST_URI}/_index%{ENV:W3TC_PREVIEW}.html%{ENV:W3TC_ENC}" [L]  
 </IfModule>  
 # END W3TC Page Cache core  
 # BEGIN WordPress  
 <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>  
 RewriteEngine On  
 RewriteBase /  
 RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L]  
 RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f  
 RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d  
 RewriteRule . /index.php [L]  
 </IfModule>  
 # END WordPress

now you can save the .htaccess file and overwrite the existing file on your WordPress server.

Now, go back to your WordPress administration page, now the W3 Total Cache Page Cache Writing is now fully working and the W3 Total Cache Error will solve.

It will fix the error. Most people search this as

• W3 Total Cache Error: Page Cache Rewriting is URL Not Working. Please verify that the server configuration allows .htaccess
• .htaccess URL rewrite not working on server
• w3 total cache minify not working
• W3 Total Cache Error

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