.htaccess RewriteRule to path without changing URL

Question

So, I\'ve this problem:

1. Base Website located at http://example.com/
2. Second Website located at http://example.com/web2/

Answer 1

This is a pretty simple rewrite. In the htaccess file in your document root, just add the following:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^alternative-url-web2/?(.*)$ /web2/$1 [L]

Unlike a redirect, which makes the browser/client send a new request for a new URL (thus changing what's in the browser's location bar), a rewrite happens entirely on the server's side.