- filter_var: documentation ( source)
<?php
$pattern = '#^(?:https?://)?(?:[a-z0-9-]+\.)*((?:[a-z0-9-]+\.)[a-z]+)#';
if (filter_var("http://example.com", FILTER_VALIDATE_URL)) {
echo "URL passed PHP Filter";
} else {
echo "URL did not pass PHP Filter";
}