Get Rid of CatalogID and ArticleID

[eengnerd]

I'm using HostGator Hatchling account with the latest version of Joomla 4 and all the updates. Found out that removing .htaccess disables the whole website. Found one person who recommends using a "hidden menu item" for every article, but this is a ridiculous solution for me...not acceptable! My menu system is already MUCH larger and more complex than I would like! I've already set the usual options..but no solution is in sight. Any ideas?
I just want the system to rewrite the URL according to the "defacto standard" for SEF URLs, using the article title as the dash instead of space delimited URL! This is advertised everywhere as the "standard" for SEF URLs...but not working as advertised in Joomla 4. I understand that a few "bugs" are inevitable, but this really should be fixed!

[Per Yngve Berg]

Have you enabled the "Remove ID numbers from URL" in the Options of Article Manager?

[eengnerd]

Have you enabled the "Remove ID numbers from URL" in the Options of Article Manager?

Yes! Found that option fairly quickly! It has zero effect!

[eengnerd]

Try these methods


Global Configuration
SEO Settings
URL Rewriting
.htaccess
Article Alias
SH404SEF
JoomSEF
HostGator Support

I've tried most of these things, but with no results. I always use an alias that is logical, such as the article name in English, followed by a two letter language code. HostGator refuses to support Joomla over the phone. I first tried .htaccess right away, according to the recommendations found in Joomla along with URL Rewriting settings. Still no effect. I have used 4SEO in the past but removed it. Am now using PWT SEO instead. I need more specific answers. Please help!

[helpwithjoomla]

Just a thought...have you checked to see if there is a cache somewhere that hasn't updated? That could be why you aren't seeing the results of your changes.

[ManuelVoileux]

Hi ,
First step :
- Rename the genuine htaccess.txt into .htaccess
- Remove the Gzip part in the .htaccess
- Set the appropriate parameters in the Joomla SEO part of the global configuration
SEF yes
rewrite URL yes
you can add html to URL if you wish.

Check your website frontend and backend.

To go further, I use the plugin Route66 https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/route-66/ which allows to specify the "look" of your url : I chose mysite/article_alias.html. But you can choose mysite/category_alias/article_alias.htm, or other patterns.
On top of that Route66 features a tool to boost the SEO of your article (same as Yoast for wordpress). For this SEO feature see the discussion viewtopic.php?p=3689737#p3689737

At last the free of charge version has all the functions. You need the pro-version, for eshop, virtuemart, ikashop. It works with Joomla 3, 4 and I have tested with no problem with Jomla 5 RC3

[eengnerd]

Hi ,
First step :
- Rename the genuine htaccess.txt into .htaccess
- Remove the Gzip part in the .htaccess
- Set the appropriate parameters in the Joomla SEO part of the global configuration
SEF yes
rewrite URL yes
you can add html to URL if you wish.

Check your website frontend and backend.

To go further, I use the plugin Route66 https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/route-66/ which allows to specify the "look" of your url : I chose mysite/article_alias.html. But you can choose mysite/category_alias/article_alias.htm, or other patterns.
On top of that Route66 features a tool to boost the SEO of your article (same as Yoast for wordpress). For this SEO feature see the discussion viewtopic.php?p=3689737#p3689737

At last the free of charge version has all the functions. You need the pro-version, for eshop, virtuemart, ikashop. It works with Joomla 3, 4 and I have tested with no problem with Jomla 5 RC3

Thank you Manuel! I took a very long look at the Route 66 extension. But after looking at the reviews, and considering the work involved, I'm still going to switch to WP. The variables being used for the Article_Alias, for example, are introducing "bugs" into the extension by treating them as "reserved words", which ALWAYS introduces bugs! Yoast, on the other hand, uses %Article-Alias%, which does NOT make "Article-Alias" a "reserved word", because it is "delimited" by characters that automatically "make it a variable name"!

This does make me very sad...I've spent several years learning Joomla 3 and 4. I've felt like crying for over a week now. But I'm tired of spending money on things that don't work as advertised. WP extensions are more expensive, but apparently they work better...time will tell!

Arthur Baldwin