URL Rewriting - PHP + Apache

Question

I wanna turn PHP dynamic URLs into static URLs. For example, I want URLs like

http://www.example.com/book.php?title=twilight to become http://www.example.com/book/twilight

and http://www.example.com/writer.php?name=meyers to become http://www.example.com/writer/meyers

When it's done, will my form validation on the site change?

My URL rewriting needs might not be much too complicated.

I'm developing it locally using XAMPP, Apache and MySql. Later I'll put it online.

How do I do that? Is this kind of URL rewriting technique the most adviced for SEO?

Eric Petroelje · Accepted Answer · 2010-07-16 20:31:41Z

2

You would use mod_rewrite for that. If you do a bit of searching on here for that, you'll likely find lots of other questions about how to create mod_rewrite rules similar to what you want to do.

answered Jul 16, 2010 at 20:31

Eric Petroelje

60.7k9 gold badges133 silver badges178 bronze badges

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

Comments

Mike Rifgin · Accepted Answer · 2010-07-16 22:27:10Z

1

Yep. U need to use mod_rewrite. Also do a search for .ht_access files. You can put your rewrite directives in .ht_access files and drop them in to whatever directory on your server where you want them to take effect.

For the type of rewrite you want this rule generator should be of use to you:

http://www.generateit.net/mod-rewrite/

And yes the URL you're trying to achieve is seo friendly.

answered Jul 16, 2010 at 22:27

Mike Rifgin

10.9k22 gold badges78 silver badges115 bronze badges

2 Comments

grossvogel Over a year ago

Usually, the file is called .htaccess with no underscore, and it's usually more efficient if you can include your mod_rewrite directives in your apache conf.

Mike Rifgin Over a year ago

I mentioned .htaccess because lots of people don't have access to httpd.conf. Thanks for the correction ;)

svenwltr · Accepted Answer · 2010-07-16 23:57:10Z

1

You can use a .htaccess file (or better apache.conf) to forward all requests to index.php with mod_rewrite:

Options +FollowSymLinks
IndexIgnore */*

<ifmodule mod_rewrite.c> 
RewriteEngine on

    # if a directory or a file exists, use it directly
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

    # otherwise forward it to index.php
    RewriteRule . index.php
</ifmodule>

There you can use $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] to interpret the request.

edited Jul 16, 2010 at 23:57

answered Jul 16, 2010 at 23:48

svenwltr

18.7k12 gold badges60 silver badges70 bronze badges

2 Comments

rlc Over a year ago

"There you can use $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] to interpret the request." How is that?

svenwltr Over a year ago

If your request is http://www.example.com/writer/meyers, than $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] is /writer/meyers. You can interpret it with Regex or by simply splitting string: explode('/',$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

URL Rewriting - PHP + Apache

3 Answers 3

Comments

2 Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

Comments

2 Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related