Redirecting based on visitor referral

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 12:30am #1

Is there anyone out there that could tell me how to do this?

I am looking to send someone who follows a link from another site to a certain page, or alternative website to mine.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 18-06-2007 2:50am

You can use the $_SERVER superglobal in PHP, not 100% bulletproof, but I don't think it's ever going to be when you're dealing with referers.

Anyway, I was bored, so I put something together that might work...
[php]
<?php
$referers_i_hate = array("http://localhost/test1.html", "http://www.boards.ie", "http://localhost/test2.html");
$go_away_to_here = "http://localhost/test2.html";

if (isset($_SERVER) && strlen($_SERVER) > 0)
{
for ($i=0;$i<count($referers_i_hate);$i++)
{
if ($_SERVER == $referers_i_hate[$i])
{
header( "Location: $go_away_to_here" );
}
}
}

?>

<html>

[/php]
Since it's sending a header, make sure it's the first thing on the page.
Fill $referers_i_hate with whatever urls you don't want as a referer... $go_away_to_here allows one url to fock them all off to.

You could go more fancy and block whole domains or all domains but your own (including/excluding blank if the referrer var is empty).

There might be better ways of doing it, and my code may be horrible and wrong, but sure it gets the ball rolling.

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 7:09pm

thanks donkeystyle, I will give that a go and get back to you in a moment with the results.

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 7:38pm

<?php
$referers_i_hate = array("http://www.siteihate1.com", "http://www.siteihate2.com", "http://www.siteihate3.com");
$go_away_to_here = "http://www.gotothissite.com";

if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']) && strlen($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']) > 0)
{
  for ($i=0;$i<count($referers_i_hate);$i++)
  {
    if ($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] == $referers_i_hate[$i])
    {
    header( "Location: $go_away_to_here" );  
    }
  }
}

Do I need to replace HTTP_SERVER with anything?

Edit: Actually I am looking for whole domains, as a site I wish to block has links to mine from different pages.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 18-06-2007 8:32pm

No, just leave $_SERVER as-is.

Edit: Actually I am looking for whole domains, as a site I wish to block has links to mine from different pages.

Well, you could stick all of them into $referers_i_hate... as long as they're comma-seperated and in double quotes you can add as many as you want.
Unless it's more dynamic like a forum or they keep changing it or whatever... that'd be a fulltime job. :eek:

It's possible to add a few lines to that code that'll redirect based on domain, but whole URLs were just more convenient for me last night

I'll either 'explode' the referer string and glue it back together as the domain name, or do some preg_match on it or whatever.

I should get some time for this later tonight... unless any other PHP'ers want to jump in in the mean time.

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 10:24pm


Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '<' in /home/limerick/domains/limerickblogger.org/public_html/blog/wp-content/themes/default/header.php on line 16

This is the error message created by above code.

zAbbo · 18-06-2007 10:55pm

Might be an idea to test it on a plain php file before putting it into wordpress, just to get it working.

I'd also be interested in the solution, whats on line 16 ?

Google shows up this - http://www.phpjabbers.com/redirect-based-on-referrer-or-ip-address-php2.html

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 18-06-2007 11:08pm

The code you pasted back is sans the closing PHP tag "?>"

<?php
$referers_i_hate = array("http://www.siteihate1.com", "http://www.siteihate2.com", "http://www.siteihate3.com");
$go_away_to_here = "http://www.gotothissite.com";

if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']) && strlen($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']) > 0)
{
  for ($i=0;$i<count($referers_i_hate);$i++)
  {
    if ($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] == $referers_i_hate[$i])
    {
    header( "Location: $go_away_to_here" );  
    }
  }
} 

[COLOR="Red"][B]?>[/B][/COLOR]

Stick that in, then start the rest of the page... should be fine.

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 11:13pm

I see, will try again.

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 11:32pm

While it is no longer causing the error message, it doesn't seem to be doing what I want it to do. It doesn't divert the person away from my site. I am guessing that they would have to be coming from the exact URL for the link to work.

would it be possible to divert them no matter what part of a website they are comming from?

something like this

Click on the link to indymedia to see what happens when someone comes from the site I have linked to above.

something on indymedia sees them coming from somewhere undesirebale and fobbes them off to a different site.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 18-06-2007 11:39pm

Yeah I know exactly what you mean alright... the one I posted does that, but you'd have to use the exact URL they're coming from.

There's one there on the link zabbo posted that uses the preg_match I was talking about.... (ie. if the domain you want to shítlist appears anywhere in the referer, then do X)

zabbo wrote:

Google shows up this - http://www.phpjabbers.com/redirect-based-on-referrer-or-ip-address-php2.html

It's the first one at the top of the page there.

I can alter my one if you want, but it'll be re-inventing the wheel a bit.

billy the squid · 18-06-2007 11:43pm

Ok will have a look and let you know how I get on. thanks

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 12:04am

now it works.

If you follow this link to my site, it should work normally,

however, if you take this route, it will send you somewhere else.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 19-06-2007 12:38am

Yeah works for me

zAbbo · 19-06-2007 9:01am

nicely done, those stormfront boys are something else, eh.

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 4:33pm

Actually, on reflection, the second one might prove more useful, given that I have the indivual's IP address.

Might send him and his friends to Section 19 of the litter pollution act every time they try to access my site.

better still, is it possible to incorporate both pieces of code?

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 19-06-2007 4:41pm

Yeah you could combine them alright... I'd say take one or the others last 'else' block, snip out what's there (between the { }) and paste the other code inside (without the <?php ?> tags obv)... which one you put inside what depends on your priority.

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 4:47pm

sweet, will give that a go,

do I have to include the $visitor = $_SERVER; line as well though, from the second one?

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 4:56pm


<?
$referrer = $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
$visitor = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
if (preg_match("/cadbury/",$referrer)) {
      header('Location: http://www.rowntree.com');
} elseif (preg_match("/lyons/",$referrer)) {
      header('Location: http://www.barrystea.ie');
} elseif (preg_match("/1.2.3.4/",$visitor)) {
      header('Location: http://www.startrek.coml');
};
}
?>

How does that look?

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 19-06-2007 5:02pm

billy the squid wrote:

do I have to include the $visitor = $_SERVER; line as well though, from the second one?

Yeah I'd leave that in.

billy the squid wrote:

How does that look?

You've got a few extra bits left over "};"

Cleaned it up a bit...

<?
$referrer = $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
$visitor = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];

if (preg_match("/cadbury/",$referrer)) 
{
      header('Location: http://www.rowntree.com');
} 
elseif (preg_match("/lyons/",$referrer)) 
{
      header('Location: http://www.barrystea.ie');
} 
elseif (preg_match("/1.2.3.4/",$visitor)) 
{
      header('Location: http://www.startrek.coml');
}
?>

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 5:05pm

oki doki, will bang that in and see what happens.

should know if it works soon enough

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 19-06-2007 5:09pm

Yes... soon everyone will be eating fruit pastels, drinking barrys tea and watching star trek... phase one is complete, mwooahahahha! >:D

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 5:21pm

I can pm you the code with the correct URLs if you would like

the first two redirects work, however, I won't know if the IP redirect works unless the person at that IP says something.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 19-06-2007 5:26pm

billy the squid wrote:

I can pm you the code with the correct URLs if you would like

Nah, I've seen tubgirl and goatse already, thanks anyway

billy the squid wrote:

the first two redirects work, however, I won't know if the IP redirect works unless the person at that IP says something.

You could always set it to your own IP and see what happens.

billy the squid · 19-06-2007 5:27pm

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Nah, I've seen tubgirl and goatse already, thanks anyway

Nah no tubgirl im afraid, just sends unwanted visitors to sites they might find informative, and members of a racist group to the litter act (statute book website0

You could always set it to your own IP and see what happens.

oh i see, good thinking.

edit: the IP thing works perfectly

thanks for the help zabbo and donkeystyle.

Redirecting based on visitor referral

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