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ExpressionEngine URLs
Pages (Templates) are organized in Template Groups. To access a Template within a Template Group you'll use this URL structure:
http://example.com/index.php/template_group/template/
For example: If you want to access the "archives" Template within the "site" Template Group you'll use this:
http://example.com/index.php/site/archives/
The Concept
The goal was to make the URLs produced by ExpressionEngine search-engine friendly by making the URL structure mimic a traditional static site. In order to accomplish this, the use of query strings was eliminated from the URLs.
Most dynamic publishing systems use query strings. That is, URLs that look like this:
http://example.com/index.php?id=2&page=1
Notice the question mark and ampersand? Those are part of a "query string". These enable dynamic systems to fetch and display specific information. Query strings, however, are disliked by search engines, which limit the amount of dynamic information they catalog. For that reason, query strings have been eliminated completely from ExpressionEngine. Instead, its URLs are segment driven, like this:
http://example.com/index.php/site/archives/
Since Template groups and templates can be named anything you want, and since your site index page can be renamed or even eliminated completely the URL struture for ExpressionEngine sites can appear totally static. For example: You can rename your "index.php" page to "blog", then rename the default Template Group from "site" to "joe". Your weblog could then be accessed at:
http://example.com/blog/joe/
Viewing your Site
Because you don't actually have physical pages on your site, the URL you use will determine what you see on your site. At its simplest, you access pages on your site using this URL formula:
http://example.com/index.php/template_group/template/
Notice that the Template Group and Template are contained in the URL. An Example: Let's say you create a Template Group called "blog", and within it you create a Template called "about_me". To access it you will use the following URL:
http://example.com/index.php/blog/about_me/
If you only specify the Template Group in the URL (and leave off a Template name), EE assumes you want to show the "index" template for that group:
http://example.com/index.php/blog/
The above URL is identical to doing this:
http://example.com/index.php/blog/index/
Important Tip: It is best if you always specify the Template Group name when you access content.
Entries and Other Things
That isn't all, though. You'll often have URLs on your site that point to a specific weblog entry, category, or other things. For instance, you might have a URL like this:
http://example.com/index.php/blog/comments/147/
This URL tells EE to display the weblog entry number 147 using the "comments" Template in the "blog" Template Group. So, EE knows what to display and where/how to display it. You can also use a "URL Title" to indicate a specific entry instead of the entry number. URL Titles are specified when you create an entry. So, the URL might be:
http://example.com/index.php/blog/comments/my_url_title/
Again, "blog" is the Template Group, "comments" is the Template, and now "my_url_title" is the URL Title for the entry to be displayed. Similarly, you might display a single category in your archives:
http://example.com/index.php/blog/archives/C13/
Here, the URL indicates to display the category with the Category ID of "13" using the "archives" Template in the "blog" Template Group.
Query Strings
Some web servers — typically Windows-based servers — still have difficulty with the default ExpressionEngine setup that doesn't use query strings. In cases like this, you can tell the system to "Force URL Query Strings" (see Admin > Output and Debugging Preferences in the Control Panel).
With this option enabled, the URLs output by ExpressionEngine are slightly different, but still far more readable and search engine-friendly than a typical dynamic system might output. With "Force URL Query Strings" turned on, an ExpressionEngine URL might look like this:
http://example.com/index.php?/site/archives/
You'll notice that it is almost identical to the regular setting, only with the addition of the question mark.
In a select few cases, turning on "Force URL Query Strings" by itself won't be enough. If URLs continue to not work even with that setting on, then you can open your main site index.php file. Toward the top you will see a $qtype variable with three possible settings. Try setting the variable to "2" (or possibly "1").