Google PR and PHP

daboss

Hi,

I'm about to launch a new blog using Wordpress. Most of you would know that Wordpress is a blogging tool using PHP. The content is stored in a database. As such, the content would be considered as dynamic content.

Would this b a problem for Google to crawl and assign a Page Rank for my site? I'm not sure if mod_rewrite is installed nor do I know how to install it. I've not contacted my host yet.

Any comments?

Python

google will struggle to crawl your site only if the urls are things like file.php?s=5&id=542

It cannot crawl links with '&' and '?' in it. Mod_rewrite will solve this problem. If you wish to get crawled you should deffinately use mod_rewrite

daboss

I've asked this question before but have not gotten definite answers. How do I use mod_rewrite? Can I install it myself? If so, where do I can a copy?

Python

im not an expert at it neither.

from what I know it can be done serverwide by edditing the servers conf file but this probably isnt available to you.

the other way is per directory - this is by using a .htaccess file to rewrite the urls. I dont know the format of it so I cant say although you might be able to find out by doing a search on google or visit php.net

cptnwinky

Google will crawl sites with dynamic addresses. Its a myth that it does not. Some other smaller engines will not and I would not worry too much about them.

Either way, here is a good article written by Chroder over at WMT..
http://www.chroder.com/archives/2004/08/08/easy-sef-urls-with-php/
This is exactly what he has done to his wordpress blog so its sure to work with yours.

daboss

Thanks captain. Good article - I'll have a try.

Btw, I've confirmed with my host that mod_rewrite is installed server-wide. Do I need to do anything on my side to activate it? How would I know if it already works? Any tips or tricks?

cptnwinky

You only have to be able to use a .htaccess file and have a good understanding of Regex.

daboss

Is that a Yes or a No? Do I still have to do anything since mod_rewrite has been installed server-wide.

cptnwinky

http://www.phpfreaks.com/tutorials/23/0.php

daboss

Thanks. From what I gather, it seems that I need to do some configuring.

Looks like I have some reading and testing to do tonight.

cptnwinky

Not to mod_rewrite. You only need to turn it on for your site in your .htaccess file and then create rewrite rules.