Ordering Custom RewriteRules Correctly in .htaccess

A classic rewrite mistake in Evolution CMS is to add a custom route such as /groups/beer_vodka below the generic friendly URL block. When that happens, the catch-all rule intercepts the request first and your custom mapping never wins.

Problem Pattern

# Friendly URLs
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?q=$1 [L,QSA]

RewriteRule ^groups/([a-z_-0-9]+)$ index.php?id=360&page=$1 [QSA,L]

Correct Order

RewriteRule ^groups/([a-z_-0-9]+)$ index.php?id=360&page=$1 [QSA,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?q=$1 [L,QSA]

Main Rule

Specific rewrites must come before the generic Evolution catch-all. Otherwise the request is already routed into index.php?q=... and the custom rule never gets a chance.

Why This Matters

This is not just a routing detail. Misordered rewrites can produce broken friendly URLs, false 404s, duplicate routes, and confusing SEO behavior.