Converting database ID parameters to SEO-friendly URLs with PHP and MySQL

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1

I’m working on making my website URLs more search engine friendly. Right now I have URLs that use database IDs as parameters, but I want to convert them to use actual category names instead.

My current URL structure looks like this:

http://example.com/page.php?category=12&section=15&topic=33&item=67

What I want to achieve is something like:

http://example.com/javascript/advanced/functions/closures/

The idea is to take the ID value (like 12) from the category parameter, query my MySQL database to find the corresponding category name (like javascript), and then build a clean URL path using those names instead of numbers.

Is this possible to do with PHP and MySQL? If yes, what would be the best approach to implement this kind of URL rewriting system?

2

It’s certainly feasible to implement SEO-friendly URLs using PHP and MySQL. The first step is to create a function that retrieves category names based on their IDs from your database. When generating URLs, convert these names into slugs: make them lowercase, replace spaces with hyphens, and remove any special characters. For incoming requests, you’ll need to parse the URL and convert the slugs back to IDs, which requires another database lookup. To improve performance, consider caching the mappings between slugs and IDs. Additionally, remember to manage 404 errors effectively for URLs that don’t match any records. Lastly, use your server’s .htaccess file to redirect all requests to a single PHP script that handles the rewriting logic.