Need help using valid_url rule reference

I had the same issue.. I would post "224regqawergwgw" without any domain identifier and still return true for valid url...



My solution was to create a callback function and check the string with a filter.

PHP Code:

$this->form_validation->set_rules('add_website', 'website url', 'trim|required|callback_check_valid_url'); 


PHP Code:

public function check_valid_url( $param )
{
  if( ! filter_var($param, FILTER_VALIDATE_URL) ){
    $this->form_validation->set_message('check_valid_url', 'The {field} must be a valid url');
    return FALSE;
  }else{
    return TRUE;
  }
  
}