Website based oin IP address
October 28, 2009 11:37 AM Subscribe
How do I show different webages to my website visitors based on country of origin?
Currently I read the browser language settings with this code.
This has some disadvantages for my application. How would a code look that shows different websites not based on the language browser settings but on the actual IP location?
Currently I read the browser language settings with this code.
This has some disadvantages for my application. How would a code look that shows different websites not based on the language browser settings but on the actual IP location?
You'd need some sort of IP geolocation package or database to match against.
I'd be careful doing this, however - when working in Germany it was very frustrating being redirected to google.de when my browser preferences told the server I only want English.
posted by sanko at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2009
I'd be careful doing this, however - when working in Germany it was very frustrating being redirected to google.de when my browser preferences told the server I only want English.
posted by sanko at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2009
If you use Apache/Apache2, the module you probably want is called geoip. This may be helpful: GeoIP HOWTO, for Apache2 and Debian.
I agree with others who have pointed out that geolocation is not without downsides. Many big companies eschew geolocation in favor of direct user selection for this reason: it's pretty common for users in one country (or who are using a proxy that makes it look they're in one country) to actually want the content for another. Unless you're doing something evil and want to explicitly prohibit this (like sleazy market-segmentation schemes that block content), you might want to think about just doing that instead. The common method is to show a splashpage or frame on first use of the site, and set a persistent cookie that's used for all other interactions. While it may seem less elegant on first blush, it's often a lot less obnoxious and user-hostile than geolocation.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:32 PM on October 28, 2009
I agree with others who have pointed out that geolocation is not without downsides. Many big companies eschew geolocation in favor of direct user selection for this reason: it's pretty common for users in one country (or who are using a proxy that makes it look they're in one country) to actually want the content for another. Unless you're doing something evil and want to explicitly prohibit this (like sleazy market-segmentation schemes that block content), you might want to think about just doing that instead. The common method is to show a splashpage or frame on first use of the site, and set a persistent cookie that's used for all other interactions. While it may seem less elegant on first blush, it's often a lot less obnoxious and user-hostile than geolocation.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:32 PM on October 28, 2009
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You can always cheat, and have a landing page where you ask visitors to choose their country. I've noticed a lot of big companies do this, including Ikea and Nike.
posted by ErikaB at 11:48 AM on October 28, 2009