In this guide
A redirect tells the browser and search engines that a page lives at another address. Picking the right kind keeps your rankings with the page; stacking several in a row slows every visit.
Key takeaways
- Use 301 (or 308) for permanent moves and 302 (or 307) only for temporary ones.
- Every extra hop in a redirect chain slows the page, often by 100–300 ms on mobile.
- Point every old address straight at the final one, and link to the final address everywhere.
- Keep important redirects for at least a year; removing them turns old links into 404s.
The four redirect codes in plain words
301 Moved Permanently: the page has moved for good. Search engines move the old page's ranking signals to the new address. Use it for site moves, http to https, and renamed pages.302 Found: a temporary move, for example during maintenance or a short campaign. The old address stays the one in search results.307 Temporary Redirectand308 Permanent Redirect: the same meaning as 302 and 301, but the browser must keep the request method. They matter for forms and APIs, rarely for normal pages.meta refreshand JavaScript redirects: work for visitors, but are slower and less reliable for search engines. Use server redirects when you can.
Redirect chains and loops
A chain is when one redirect leads to another: http://example.com → https://example.com → https://www.example.com/. Each hop adds a round trip, often 100 to 300 ms on mobile, and Google follows only a limited number of hops.
A loop is when the redirects lead back to where they started. Browsers stop with an error such as "too many redirects", and the page cannot be reached at all.
Fix a chain in four steps
- Check the address with the redirect checker to see every hop and its status code.
- Decide the one final address (for example
https://www.example.com/). - Change each old rule so it points straight to the final address, not to the next hop.
- Update internal links, the sitemap and canonical tags to use the final address, so visitors and crawlers never need the redirect.
Common causes
- The http-to-https rule and the www rule are separate, so some visitors go through both.
- A trailing slash rule added by the CMS on top of the server's rules.
- A CDN or hosting panel redirect plus a plugin redirect for the same thing.
- Old redirects from a previous site move that now point at pages which redirect again.
Checklist
- Check your home page and top pages with the redirect checker.
- Pick one final address style: https, with or without www, trailing slash or not.
- Make every rule point straight to that final address.
- Update internal links, the sitemap and canonical tags to the final address.
- Look for loops after any CMS, CDN or hosting change.
Questions
Does a 301 redirect lose SEO value?
Not in a way that should worry you. Google has said that 301, 302 and 308 redirects pass ranking signals; what matters is that the destination is the right page and the redirect stays in place.
How long should I keep a 301 redirect?
At least a year, and for important pages with outside links, for as long as you can. Removing it turns the old address into a broken link.
Is a 302 bad for SEO?
Only when the move is permanent. Then search engines may keep showing the old address. Use 301 for permanent moves.