.htaccess RewriteRule to path without changing URL

This is a pretty simple rewrite. In the htaccess file in your document root, just add the following:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^alternative-url-web2/?(.*)$ /web2/$1 [L]

Unlike a redirect, which makes the browser/client send a new request for a new URL (thus changing what's in the browser's location bar), a rewrite happens entirely on the server's side.

Enable mod_rewrite and .htaccess through httpd.conf and then put this code in your .htaccess under DOCUMENT_ROOT directory:

Options +FollowSymLinks -MultiViews
# Turn mod_rewrite on
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /

RewriteRule ^alternative-url-web2(/.*|)$ /web2$1 [L,NC]

Alternate code:

RewriteRule ^alternative-url-web2/?$ /web2/ [L,NC]
RewriteRule ^alternative-url-web2/(.+)$ /web2/$1 [L,NC]