YSlow and Configure Entity Tags (ETags)
With the Firebug add-on YSlow, one of the components that gets rated is something called Entity Tags or ETags. When you run YSlow to optimize your website or blog, you may be getting dinged on that component. Then you click on the “read more” link to learn how to fix the issue. But when you actually read more instead of being enlightened you just get confused. Don’t sweat it, I was baffled too. Essentially what all that “read more” blurb boils down to is that ETags are not really useful, so cut them out all together. To do this, all you need to do is add
to your .htaccess file**. If all goes well, you should now get an A for Configure entity tags (ETags)*.
*If you don’t get an A, (
) it is likely due to the fact that you are calling in outside files that have issue with ETags, external files like JavaScripts, style sheets or images. If that’s the case, you are out of luck unless you have some control or influence over the external file.
**If you do not have an .htaccess file in you file system, you can create one. Simply create a file called “.htaccess” in your web root. Open the file in your favorite editor and paste in FileETag none, save and close. Sometimes, the .htaccess file is hidden from view. If so, you may need to turn on a toggle for “Show Invisible Files” or something similar in you FTP application or Web File Browser.
