On most shared hosting (cPanel, Plesk) simply uploading the file is enough. If a framework front controller swallows the request, the .htaccess rule below fixes it.
Step by step
- 1 Upload a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6.txt to your document root (public_html or httpdocs).
- 2 If it returns your app's 404 page instead of the key, add the rule below to .htaccess above the framework rewrite rules.
- 3 Confirm the URL loads, then click Verify.
.htaccess
# Serve the IndexNow key file before the framework front controller.
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6\.txt$ - [L]The key shown is an example. Yours is generated when you add the domain.
Watch out for
- Laravel, Symfony and WordPress all route unknown paths through index.php — the [L] rule stops that for this one file.
Then what?
Hosting the key file proves you own the domain — it doesn't submit anything on its own. You still need something watching for changes and calling the IndexNow API with the right URLs at the right time. You can build that yourself, or let us run it for $12 a year.
Set up automatic submission