


How to rewrite URLs to be more user-friendly (e.g., product.php?id=123 to /product/123)?
Jul 07, 2025 am 12:43 AMRewriting dynamic URLs to a more friendly form can be implemented through server configuration or framework routing. If you use the Apache server, you can enable the mod_rewrite module and add rewrite rules in the .htaccess file, such as mapping /product/123 to product.php?id=123; if you use Nginx, you need to complete similar functions through location blocks and rewrite instructions in the site configuration file, and reload the service after modification; for CMS or development frameworks (such as WordPress, Laravel), you can set or define routing rules in the background to achieve friendly URLs without manually writing rewrite rules, and at the same time improve SEO effects. Key points include ensuring modules are enabled, writing regular expressions correctly, and handling cache and permission issues.
It is not difficult to change dynamic URLs to a more friendly form. The key is to understand the working mechanism and configuration methods behind it. The most common scenario is to turn links like product.php?id=123
into more readable forms such as /product/123
or /products/123-product-name
. The key to implementation lies in the server-side rewriting rules.
mod_rewrite using .htaccess
and Apache
If you are using an Apache server, the most common way is to implement URL rewrite through the .htaccess
file and mod_rewrite
module.
For example: If you want to actually point the request to access /product/123
product.php?id=123
, you can add the following rules in .htaccess
:
RewriteEngine On RewriteRule ^product/([0-9] )$ product.php?id=$1 [L]
The meaning of this code is: If the user accesses /product/123
, the server will jump to product.php?id=123
, but /product/123
is still displayed in the address bar. Where ([0-9] )
is a regular expression to match the numeric ID.
Notes:
- Make sure the server has
mod_rewrite
enabled. - To enable
RewriteEngine
in.htaccess
. - If you use a cache plugin or CDN, you may need to clean the cache or refresh the rules.
URL rewrite configuration under Nginx
If you are using Nginx, the configuration method is slightly different. You cannot use .htaccess
, but directly modify the site's configuration file.
For example, if you also want to map /product/123
to product.php?id=123
, you can write it like this:
location /product/ { rewrite ^/product/([0-9] )$ /product.php?id=$1 last; }
This rule matches the URL starting with /product/
and following a number, and converts it to a PHP dynamic page request.
Things to note:
- The syntax must be correct, especially the writing of regular expressions.
- After modifying the configuration, you must reload Nginx (such as executing
nginx -s reload
). - It is best to back up the original configuration first during testing to avoid errors affecting website access.
Combined with CMS or framework routing capabilities
Nowadays, many content management systems (such as WordPress, Shopify) or development frameworks (such as Laravel, Symfony) have built-in routing systems, and can set friendly URL formats directly in the background or in the code.
For example in WordPress:
- Go to "Settings > Permalinks" in the background, you can choose the default structure or customize it.
- The common format is
/postname/
or/category/postname/
, and WordPress will automatically process the underlying URL mapping.
If you are using Laravel, you can define a route like this in routes/web.php
:
Route::get('/product/{id}', 'ProductController@show');
In this way, accessing /product/123
will call the controller's method and pass in the ID.
advantage:
- You don’t have to write and rewrite the rules yourself, the framework will help you handle it.
- It is easier to maintain, especially when the project structure is complex.
- Usually supports SEO-friendly paths, which are helpful for SEO.
In general, the essence of URL rewriting is to let the browser see a beautiful address and the server knows how to deal with it. Which method is used depends on your technology stack and server environment. As long as you master the basic principles, the operation is not complicated, but be careful about details, such as regular expressions, server permissions and caching issues.
The above is the detailed content of How to rewrite URLs to be more user-friendly (e.g., product.php?id=123 to /product/123)?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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