if http:// is in string then leave it, else if not add it

Question

I have a input that you enter a URL, i basically want to write some php that says if the domain containts \"http://\" then leave it be, else if not then add it to the beginn

Answer 1

I know this is a bit late to the party, but I prefer this approach:

if (!preg_match('#^http[s]{0,1}://#', $input)) {
    $input = 'http://' . $input;
}

This will preserve a https:// address, and not have you ending up with http://https://www.mysite.com. You could also further edit it to strip out https:// if you had a rule for not using https addresses.

I know the original question didn't ask for this, but I think it's important to consider in most situations, and will hopefully help someone else who comes looking.