Hi there, I'm using SP Page Builder Pro and Akeeba Admin Tools. I've created a new .htaccess file with the .htaccess Maker, quite a while ago. All settings are default. When I try to use the Frontend Editor in SP Page Builder Pro I get this 404 error. Since there are so many settings in the .htaccess Maker I'm not familiar with, I thought you might have an idea what causes this error. Thans in advance.
#43483 Using SP Page Builder Frontend editor gives a 404
Posted in ‘Admin Tools for Joomla!’
This is a public ticket
Everybody will be able to see its contents. Do not include usernames, passwords or any other sensitive information.
Environment Information
Joomla! version
6.2.0
PHP version
8.5.12
Admin Tools version
7.9.3
Latest post by nicholas on Tuesday, 03 November 2026 08:09 CST
Tuesday, 03 November 2026 06:02 CST
hansiedutch
Tuesday, 03 November 2026 07:13 CST
![](/images/avatar/moira.png" width="768" height="768" loading="lazy)
moira
Let’s first find out whether the .htaccess file is involved at all.
- Connect to your site with FTP, SFTP, or your host’s File Manager and download a copy of the
.htaccessfile in your site’s root folder, so you can put it back later. - Edit the
.htaccessfile on your site, delete its entire contents, and replace them with the contents of Joomla’s defaulthtaccess.txtfile for Joomla 6.2.0, which you can find at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/joomla/joomla-cms/6.2.0/htaccess.txt. Save the file. - Try using SP Page Builder’s Frontend Editor again.
If the Frontend Editor now works, the .htaccess Maker is involved. Please let us know and we will help you find which option needs to be adjusted. In the meantime, you can put your backed up .htaccess file back to keep your site protected.
If you still get the 404 error, the .htaccess Maker is not the cause, and you can put your backed up .htaccess file back. In this case, please do the following:
- Try using SP Page Builder’s Frontend Editor once more, so the error occurs again.
- Right after that, go to your site’s backend, Components, Admin Tools, Web Application Firewall, Blocked Requests Log.
- Find the most recent entries which have your IP address in the IP address column. If you are not sure what your IP address is, search for “what is my IP” in your favourite search engine.
- Tell us the Reason and Target URL of those entries.
If there are no entries for your IP address around the time you tried using the Frontend Editor, please let us know that, too. It’s also useful information.
Moira Fari
Support Specialist
🇬🇧English: native 🕐 My time zone is Asia / Nicosia
Kindly note that my replies are fully vetted by our developers.
Tuesday, 03 November 2026 07:45 CST
hansiedutch
Hi Moira,
I've also sent a ticket to Support of JoomShaper, builders of SP Page Builder. They came up with a solution that worked. It is just a Joomla setting. But thanks for your support.
If anyone else would experience the same problem, this is the way to solve it.
1. Log in to your Joomla administrator panel.
2. Navigate to **System → Plugins**.
3. Search for and open the **System - SEF** plugin.
4. Locate the **Strict Routing** option.
5. Set it to **No** (Disabled).
6. Save and close the plugin settings.
Tuesday, 03 November 2026 08:09 CST
nicholas
Akeeba Staff
Manager
Hello Hans,
We were suspecting something like that since you reported a 404, not a 403. Admin Tools' WAF and .htaccess Maker block requests with a 403. It would only become a 404 on a misconfigured server, which is rare (though not impossible). That's why Moira was asking you to essentially disable one thing at a time to rule out interference from our software.
I am glad this was fixed!
Have a fantastic day!
Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos
Lead Developer and Director
🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!