How to Change PHP Settings Using .htaccess – Rocket.net Help Center

Overview

In some hosting environments (Apache-based servers), you can adjust PHP settings directly via the .htaccess file. This is useful for increasing limits such as execution time or memory without accessing server configuration tools.

Common settings you may need to modify include:

php_value max_execution_time
php_value memory_limit
php_value upload_max_filesize
php_value post_max_size

Rocket.net allows you to view and edit your website files, including .htaccess, directly from the File Manager in the Rocket dashboard.

What `.htaccess` Is Used For on Rocket.net

On Rocket.net, .htaccess is mainly used for:

WordPress rewrite rules
Redirects
Security rules (block or restrict acces)

How to Update PHP Settings via `.htaccess`

Log in to your Rocket.net dashboard
Go to Sites
Select your site
Click File Manager
Open the public_html directory and locate and click .htaccess
Edit and save changes

Step 2: Add your PHP directives

Insert the following lines into your .htaccess file:

# Increase PHP execution time
php_value max_execution_time 300

# Increase memory limit
php_value memory_limit 256M

# Allow larger uploads
php_value upload_max_filesize 64M

# Increase POST size limit
php_value post_max_size 64M

Important ordering rule

post_max_size must be equal or larger than upload_max_filesize, otherwise uploads will still fail.

Step 3: Save and test your site

After saving:

Refresh your website
Retry the action that previously failed (upload, import, etc.)

Common Values Explained

Setting	Purpose	Example Value
max_execution_time	Script timeout limit	300
memory_limit	PHP memory usage limit	256M
upload_max_filesize	Max file upload size	64M
post_max_size	Max POST request size	64M

These are the most frequently adjusted PHP values:

max_execution_time → Prevents scripts from timing out during long processes
memory_limit → Controls how much memory PHP can use
upload_max_filesize → Maximum file upload size
post_max_size → Maximum size of POST requests

Best Practice Notes

Only increase limits when necessary
Keep values reasonable to avoid performance issues

Still having issues uploading or getting timeout errors? Drop us a line in live chat or Submit a Ticket to our Support Team, and our team will get it fixed for you.