Using Server Side Includes with HTML Files Carrie SmahaUpdated on March 10, 2026 1 Minute Read Typically, when you use Server Side Includes, you’ll save the file with the shtml extension. This tells the server that it contains a SSI. If you have lots of files, renaming them with the shtml extension can be tedious. You can easily set up a htaccess rule to allow SSI with html files. If you are not familiar with server side includes, please read our article. Please keep in mind, if you do not have to do this, it is not recommended. Since you are directing the server to parse all HTML files it can slow down page load speeds. Setting SSI to work over HTML Log into cPanel.Navigate to your .htaccess file using file manager in cPanel.Open the .htaccess file with code edit. At the top of the file add these lines of code: AddType text/html .shtml AddHandler server-parsed .shtml Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes AddHandler server-parsed .html .htm Now, when you use Server Side Includes you can use HTML pages as well. If you need further assistance please feel free to contact our support department. Summarize and Research with AIShare on Social Media Carrie Smaha Senior Manager Marketing Operations Carrie Smaha is a digital strategy, web development, and SEO leader with 20 years of experience. She built her foundation in fast-paced agency environments before moving in-house to InMotion Hosting, where she leads go-to-market programs, agency initiatives, and technical product marketing that connects product capability to real customer decisions. More Articles by Carrie Related Articles SSL Certificate Lifetimes Shrink to 47 Days by 2029 Installing SSLs and Generating CSRs in cPanel How to Upload Large Files Without FTP Timeouts eCommerce – Setup your Merchant Account Gateway How to Zip and Unzip Files on Windows 11 and Windows 10 How to Transfer and Backup Website Files with Rsync .htaccess File Reference List: Rules, Fixes, and Uses How to Force a File Download With .htaccess Redirecting Visitors to an Under Construction Page How to Force www and non-www on Your Domain with .htaccess