index.php vs. domain.com

How should I link to my homepage?

[dvduval]

I just changed my homepage to a PHP file. Now all the links in my site point to index.php. I notice now that when the page comes up I have a page rank of 4 on damain.com/index.php and 5 on domain.com. Will Google and other engines see these as 2 different pages, or will this propblem take care of itself in the next update? Would it be better to have my secondary pages point to domain.com rather than index.php?

[jdMorgan]

dvduval,

After having a similar problem several years ago, I found it much better to point everything to one
domain name, and to use the canonical form " www.domain_name.tld/ " for all incoming links. On-site
links can be canonical or relative - that didn't seem to matter.

If, for some reason, your server doesn't "find" index.php when looking for "/" you can use mod_dir
in .htaccess or any other redirect to fix this in one single spot, rather than hunting down and
changing a bunch of links.

Jim

[martin]

It's always better to remove redundant parts of the URI, and don't change them [w3.org]

[jdMorgan]

Martin,

Agreed, but everyone needs some time to learn, and the best way to learn is through experience. And
the definition of experience is, "that which allows you to recognize a mistake when you make it
again".

:)

Good link, bookmarked that one to keep in the armory!

Jim