Redirect Chain / HTTP Status Tracer

How HTTP redirects work

HTTP redirects are the web's mechanism for pointing a client from one URL to another. When a server sends a 3xx status code in response to a request, the accompanying Location header tells the client where to go next. The browser automatically follows this instruction and makes a new request to the target URL. This process repeats until a non-redirect response (typically 200 OK) is received, or until a redirect loop is detected. The redirect chain is the sequence of URLs visited during this process, from the original URL to the final destination.

The most common redirect status codes are defined in the HTTP/1.1 specification (RFC 7231). A 301 Moved Permanently tells the client and search engines that the resource has permanently relocated. Browsers cache this redirect so future requests go directly to the new URL. A 302 Found indicates a temporary move where the client should continue to request the original URL in the future. A 307 Temporary Redirect functions like a 302 but explicitly preserves the HTTP method and request body. A 308 Permanent Redirect is the permanent equivalent of 307, preserving the method. There are also 303 See Other, which forces a GET after a POST, and 304 Not Modified, which is not technically a redirect but tells the client its cached copy is still valid.

Each redirect hop adds a full HTTP round trip — DNS resolution, TCP connection, TLS handshake if applicable, request transmission, server processing, and response download. If the redirect points to a different hostname, the entire process repeats from DNS resolution onward. A chain of three or more redirects can easily add multiple seconds to page load time, especially on mobile networks with higher latency. For this reason, performance audits often flag any redirect chain longer than one hop as an issue that should be addressed.

Common redirect scenarios

Redirects are used in many common web scenarios. Domain migration is one of the most frequent — when a website moves from example.com to example.net, all old URLs should 301-redirect to their new equivalents so both users and search engines are directed to the correct location. URL normalisation is another: many servers redirect non-www to www (or vice versa), redirect HTTP to HTTPS, and redirect bare domains to a trailing slash path (example.com to example.com/ ). Tracking and affiliate links often use redirects to log clicks before forwarding visitors to the destination. URL shorteners are built entirely around redirects, storing a short code and issuing a 301 or 302 to the long target URL.

Content management systems also create redirects when page slugs change. If you rename a blog post from /blog/old-title to /blog/new-title, a well-configured CMS will set up a 301 from the old URL to the new one. E-commerce platforms redirect outdated product URLs when inventory changes. Marketing campaigns use redirects to send traffic from a QR code or short link to a landing page. In each of these cases, keeping the redirect chain to a single hop is critical for performance and search engine optimisation.

The worst-case scenario is the redirect chain that grows unintentionally over time. A common example: a site initially redirects http://example.com to http://www.example.com, then later adds an HTTPS redirect from http://www.example.com to https://www.example.com, resulting in a two-hop chain. Each subsequent configuration change can add another hop. This tool helps you identify such chains so you can consolidate them into zero or one hop by configuring your server to redirect directly to the final HTTPS URL.

How redirects affect SEO and performance

Search engines like Google consider redirects when crawling and indexing websites. A 301 redirect passes most of the original URL's ranking signals (link equity) to the destination URL. This means you can change your URL structure without losing search rankings, as long as you use proper 301 redirects. However, a chain of multiple redirects dilutes this equity — each hop reduces the amount of ranking signal that passes through. Google has stated that multiple redirects can also increase crawl time and reduce crawl budget, potentially slowing down how quickly your new content is indexed.

From a performance perspective, each redirect adds latency. On a desktop with a fast connection, two or three redirects might add only a few hundred milliseconds. On a mobile device on a 3G network, the same chain could add several seconds. The HTTP Archive reports that a significant percentage of websites still have redirect chains of three or more hops. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse flag these as opportunities for improvement. The fix is often straightforward: configure your web server or CDN to redirect directly to the final destination in a single hop.

Frequently asked questions