This guide explains the principle of on-the-fly URL rewriting.

Preamble

• On-the-fly URL rewriting is a technique that allows modifying the appearance of a web page's URLs without actually changing the resource's path.
• This process is done through virtual redirects, transforming a visible URL into a more aesthetic one while preserving the initial destination, invisible to visitors.
• This method is often used to make URLs simpler and more readable, by hiding the parameters of dynamic pages.
• In addition to improving aesthetics for visitors, it is beneficial for referencing, as search engines generally prefer URLs without complex parameters.

URL rewriting example

Take the example of the URL: article.php?id=25&categorie=4&page=3. It can be rewritten as: article-25-4-3.html or titre-article-25-4-3.html. Here is how to configure this in a .htaccess file if article.php is located in the web/admin/ directory:

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /admin/
RewriteRule ^article-([0-9]*)-([0-9]*)-([0-9]*).html$ article.php?id=$1&categorie=$2&page=$3 [L]

• Options +FollowSymlinks: allows the use of symbolic links
• RewriteEngine on: enables Apache's URL rewriting module
• RewriteBase /admin/: specifies the working directory
• RewriteRule: defines the rewrite rule

With this configuration, when a user accesses article-25-4-3.html, they are redirected to article.php?id=25&categorie=4&page=3 without this being visible.

Redirect to another domain

If you own multiple domains pointing to the same site, you can redirect all requests to a main domain. For example, if www.domaine.xyz and www.mon-domaine.xyz lead to the same site, but www.mon-domaine.xyz is your main domain, use this rule in the .htaccess of www.domaine.xyz:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mon-domaine.xyz/$1 [R=301]

This will redirect all pages from www.domaine.xyz to www.mon-domaine.xyz transparently, with a permanent redirect (R=301).

Also refer to this other guide on this subject.