remove session id from url

[gsdcypher]

Hi All,

Is there a way to remove the session id from the url (use cookie, other, etc.)???

Zen Cart 1.3.8a

Thanks.

[DrByte]

After clicking on a link, the session ID should disappear if the customer's browser is properly configured to set session cookies and your server is properly setting said cookies.
Otherwise it remains.

[gsdcypher]

Hi DrByte,

Thanks for the reply. The reason I ask is an SEO firm recommended removing the session id (if possible) from the initial url for better SEO practice/recognition.

It is only there on initial access to the site and then disappears, but they recommended that it not be there at all. Is there a way to have it not show at all?

Thanks.

[yellow1912]

Hi DrByte,

Thanks for the reply. The reason I ask is an SEO firm recommended removing the session id (if possible) from the initial url for better SEO practice/recognition.

It is only there on initial access to the site and then disappears, but they recommended that it not be there at all. Is there a way to have it not show at all?

Thanks.

But search engines wont get that anyway. zenid is not created when spiders visit your site, i believe.

[DrByte]

... an SEO firm recommended removing the session id (if possible) from the initial url for better SEO practice/recognition.

Of course they would. That's their job.

It is only there on initial access to the site and then disappears, but they recommended that it not be there at all. Is there a way to have it not show at all?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: It's complicated. There's even a contribution that tries to do this, but it's quirky and not fully reliable, with the downside being that visitors cannot reach your site if it's misbehaving. Not recommended for live sites that want to not turn away customers.

[Website Rob]

DrByte, can you confirm or deny the comment by yellow1912?

"search engines wont get that anyway. zenid is not created when spiders visit your site"

[DrByte]

But search engines wont get that anyway. zenid is not created when spiders visit your site, i believe.

DrByte, can you confirm or deny the comment by yellow1912?

"search engines wont get that anyway. zenid is not created when spiders visit your site"

That's entirely dependent on whether the shopowner has muddled with the sessions settings in the admin. By default the "Prevent Spider Sessions" option is set to true, meaning that search engine crawlers (aka spiders) will not experience normal session behavior.

[Website Rob]

That's what I thought as well. Always good to get confirmation.

Should also help others -- with the same question -- in finding a quick & correct answer.

[tez]

How about adding " || $_GET['zenid']" to the code in \includes\templates\*\common\html_header.php

like this around line 30 (note I removed the 'define()' check)

<?php if (in_array($current_page_base,explode(",",constant('ROBOTS_PAGES_TO_SKIP'))) || $current_page_base=='down_for_maintenance' || $_GET['zenid']) { ?>
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow" />
<?php } ?>

So then any time there is a zenid in the URL the page is considered a "noindex" page, search engines will generally avoid storing it.

[DrByte]

Doing that won't likely make much difference, and could actually cause you some problems.

The only time a search engine gets a zenid is when they pick up a link posted somewhere that's got the zenid attached.

And if your server is properly built, having recreate-session enabled should prevent any risk of session hijacking even if the zenid does get passed on.