Forum Moderators: phranque
RewriteRule ^catalog/foo/([-a-zA-Z0-9]+)$ /catalog/foo/index.php?model=$1 [L]RewriteRule ^catalog/foo/([-a-zA-Z0-9]+)$ /catalog/foo/index.php?model=$1 [R=301,L]
In my htaccess, I have the folllowing:
RewriteRule ^catalog/foo/([-a-zA-Z0-9]+)$ /catalog/foo/index.php?model=$1 [L]
Basically, I'm taking my long, database-generated URLs (domain.com/catalog/foo/index.php?model=123) and making it pretty (domain.com/catalog/foo/123).
The Redirect-to-Rewrite Two-Step
Problem: Your dynamically generated pages have long, ugly, hard-to-memorize URLs, probably containing query strings. You want them to have short pretty URLs.
The Solution comes in two parts.
Part 1. Redirect
When a user asks for the long ugly URL, redirect to the short pretty URL. Basic pattern:
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \?
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} queryname=([a-z]+)
RewriteRule longcomplicatedURL http://www.example.com/blahblah/%1? [R=301,L]
The %1 is captured from the original query string, and the final ? means that you now get rid of the query string. In real life it will usually be a little more complicated, but that's the basic process.
Example:
user asks forwww.example.com/directory/morestuff/index.php?model=volvo
They get bounced over towww.example.com/cars/volvo
Part 2. Rewrite
You get an incoming request for a short pretty URL-- either from a new arrival or from someone who was redirected in Part 1. The server can't tell the difference.
RewriteRule blahblah/([a-z]+)$ longcomplicatedURL?queryname=$1 [L]
This time around, you're capturing part of the request and changing it into a query string.
Example:
user asks forwww.example.com/cars/volvo
They may think that's what they're getting-- it's what the browser's address bar says-- but behind the scenes the page content is really coming fromwww.example.com/directory/morestuff/index.php?model=$1
Now you see why Part 1 had to look at THE_REQUEST. It's for insurance. If something happens later on, your long complicated URL might pass through mod_rewrite again. If it does, you need to be sure it doesn't get re-redirected. Otherwise there will be an infinite loop.
Now wait a minute! Does this mean that if someone starts out asking for "longcomplicatedURL", they go through this whole rigamarole and then they end up right back where they started?
Yup. But they don't know it. They only know what the browser's address bar tells them. Even robots-- yes, even google-- can't tell that they're being rewritten.
The Redirect part of the package-- Part 1-- is not technically necessary. The Rewrite-- Part 2-- will function without it. But redirecting everyone to the same URL means that everyone is now on the same page ... and it avoids nasty things like Duplicate Content.
But you're not done yet.
Part 0.
Before you do anything with Part 1 and Part 2, go over your current site carefully. Make sure that your own links point only to the short pretty URL. Requests for the long complicated URL should come only from outside-- from people with outdated bookmarks, or old links from other sites. Your own site will use only the pretty URLs.
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^/gallery/process/getByModelID.php$
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^model=([-a-zA-Z0-9]+)
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.mydomain.com/gallery/%1? [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^gallery/([-a-zA-Z0-9]+)$ /gallery/process/getByModelID.php?model=$1 [L]
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} catalog/stuff/index.php
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} model=([a-z0-9]+) [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.mydomain.com/catalog/stuff/%1? [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^catalog/stuff/([-a-zA-Z0-9]+)$ /catalog/stuff/index.php?model=$1 [L]
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,9}\ /catalog/stuff/index\.php\?model=([a-z0-9]+)\ HTTP/ [NC]
RewriteRule ^catalog/stuff/index\.php$ http://www.example.com/catalog/stuff/%1? [R=301,L]RewriteRule ^catalog/stuff/([-a-z0-9]+)$ /catalog/stuff/index.php?model=$1 [NC,L]
A dumb question - when I type in the "old" URL that contains the model=123 string in the browser, does Rewrite actually change it in the address bar, or is that just behind-the-scenes? That is, when I manually type in the old URL, the page loads, but the address bar retains the old URL. No biggie (I don't think), just curious.
RewriteRule (.*) shortprettyURL etc.
Clearing the cache now makes the browser show the clean URL in the address bar, even if I manually type in the ugly one.
.\.
blahblah.php$ dostuff
