🔍Regex Recipes

URL Validation (HTTP/HTTPS)

Validate HTTP and HTTPS URLs including query strings and fragments.

Pattern

^https?:\/\/(www\.)?[-a-zA-Z0-9@:%._\+~#=]{1,256}\.[a-zA-Z0-9()]{1,6}\b([-a-zA-Z0-9()@:%_\+.~#?&\/\/=]*)$

Explanation

Matches common URL formats with optional www, query parameters, and fragments.

Examples

Basic HTTPS

Input

https://example.com

Output

✓ Match

With path

Input

https://example.com/path/to/page

Output

✓ Match

With query

Input

https://example.com?param=value&foo=bar

Output

✓ Match

With fragment

Input

https://example.com/page#section

Output

✓ Match

Invalid - no protocol

Input

example.com

Output

✗ No match

Code Examples

JavaScript

const urlRegex = /^https?:\/\/(www\.)?[-a-zA-Z0-9@:%._\+~#=]{1,256}\.[a-zA-Z0-9()]{1,6}\b([-a-zA-Z0-9()@:%_\+.~#?&\/\/=]*)$/;
const isValidUrl = urlRegex.test('https://example.com'); // true

Try it Now

Open in Regex Tester

💡 Tips

Consider using URL parsing libraries for production use
Test with and without www prefix
Remember to handle URL encoding for special characters

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Does not validate if URL is actually accessible
May not match all valid URL formats per RFC 3986
International domain names need special handling