If you see an error, an empty page, or raw code, it usually means: The SSI module is disabled on your hosting environment.
Add the following lines:
Check the box for and complete the installation wizard. 2. Check Handler Mappings view shtml fix
AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml : Tells Apache to parse the file for includes. Fix 2: Check File Permissions
<!--#include virtual="/footer.html" -->
Before diving into the fixes, it helps to understand what you are dealing with. An .shtml file is not a special type of HTML file that browsers interpret on the client-side. Instead, it relies on Server Side Includes (SSI) directives that are executed on the web server itself.
A single character error in the SSI syntax can cause the rendering to break. Ensure your includes look exactly like this: Missing the ! or # (e.g., tags remain unprocessed. To fix this locally, you must run a local development server. Fix 1: Use VS Code Live Server Download . Install the Live Server extension. Open your project folder containing the SHTML files. If you see an error, an empty page,
Once the module is loaded, you must tell Apache which file extensions to process. Add the following directives to your configuration file ( httpd.conf , apache2.conf , or your virtual host configuration) or your .htaccess file: