PHP validate string to ensure it does not contain http:// or https:// or www

Question

I have the following if statement to check whether or not a string begins with http:// or https:// but I also need it to check whether it begins with www.

if (preg_match('#^https?://#i', $url) === 1) {
    // Starts with http:// or https:// (case insensitive).
}

So the following would fail:

But the following would pass the validation

website.com

How can I adapt this to check for the above?

There are multiple TLDs and could be numerous directories. Do you only care about any named domain on .com? — chris85
– chris85, Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 11:03
@chris85 - Ultimately I want to make sure that 'myurl.com' is also valid but wanted to work this out as a start point. — Tom
– Tom, Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 11:10
Not quite... the TLD is not important... just the http / https / www part - none of which should be present... — Tom
– Tom, Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 11:13

mikeybeck · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-14 11:39:47Z

2

Here's the regex #^(https?://|www\.)#i, and here's a way to test for future URLs (command line, change \n to <br> if testing in a browser).

<?php
$urls = array('http://www.website.com', 'https://www.website.com', 'http://website.com', 'https://website.com', 'www.website.com', 'website.com');
foreach($urls as $url) {
    if (preg_match('#^(https?://|www\.)#i', $url) === 1){
        echo $url . ' matches' . "\n";
    } else {
        echo $url . ' fails' . "\n";
    }
}

Output:

http://www.website.com matches
https://www.website.com matches
http://website.com matches
https://website.com matches
www.website.com matches
website.com fails

edited Apr 14, 2015 at 11:39

mikeybeck

5922 gold badges15 silver badges28 bronze badges

answered Apr 14, 2015 at 11:24

chris85

23.9k7 gold badges36 silver badges51 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Ahmed Ziani · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-14 13:42:21Z

1

Try with this:

preg_match('#^((https?://)|www\.?)#i', $url) === 1

edited Apr 14, 2015 at 13:42

answered Apr 14, 2015 at 11:03

Ahmed Ziani

1,2343 gold badges14 silver badges26 bronze badges

3 Comments

chris85 Over a year ago

Targeted string doesn't have www and doesn't start with http.

Tom Over a year ago

Still not quite there... http://website.com and https://website.com would still pass

chris85 Over a year ago

This fails because you've made both parameters optional.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

PHP validate string to ensure it does not contain http:// or https:// or www

2 Answers 2

Comments

3 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

Comments

3 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related