What Is a 301 Redirect?

A 301 redirect is an instruction from a web server that tells browsers and search engines a page has permanently moved to a new URL. When a browser requests a URL that has a 301 redirect set up, the server responds with the 301 status code and the new address. The browser then automatically follows the redirect and loads the new page. The whole process happens in a fraction of a second and is invisible to the visitor.

The number 301 is the HTTP status code for this response. It falls in the 3xx range, which covers all types of redirects.

301 vs 302 — permanent vs temporary

The most important distinction in redirects is between permanent and temporary.

A 301 redirect is permanent. It tells browsers and search engines that the old URL is gone for good and the new URL is the correct address going forward. Search engines transfer the ranking value of the old URL to the new one and update their index accordingly.

A 302 redirect is temporary. It tells browsers and search engines that the move is not permanent and the old URL may return at some point. Search engines generally do not transfer ranking value for a 302 and continue to index the old URL.

In practice, most redirects on websites should be 301s. A 302 is appropriate for genuinely temporary situations — for example redirecting visitors to a maintenance page while work is in progress, or running a short-term A/B test. If you are moving a page permanently, always use a 301.

Using a 302 when you mean a 301 is a common mistake that costs ranking value unnecessarily.

Why 301 redirects matter for SEO

When a page builds up ranking value over time — through links from other websites, through being indexed and ranked for certain search terms — that value is attached to the URL, not the content. If you move the content to a new URL without a redirect, the old URL eventually disappears from Google's index and the new URL starts from scratch with no history.

A 301 redirect tells Google to transfer the ranking value from the old URL to the new one. It is not an instant process — it can take weeks for Google to fully process a redirect and consolidate the ranking signals — but it preserves the value that has been built up rather than discarding it.

This is why setting up 301 redirects during a website migration or restructure is one of the most important technical SEO tasks. A large site that moves to a new URL structure without redirects can lose a significant portion of its search traffic overnight.

301 redirects and broken links

A 301 redirect is also the correct fix when a page that other websites link to has moved to a new URL. If an external website links to your old URL and you have a 301 redirect in place, visitors from that link land on the correct page and the ranking value from that link is preserved.

Without the redirect, the old URL returns a 404 and the link from the external website effectively goes nowhere — both for visitors and for search engines.

Redirect chains

A redirect chain occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C. Technically this works — the visitor eventually lands on the correct page — but it is worth avoiding where possible.

Each redirect in a chain adds a small delay. More importantly, ranking value diminishes slightly with each hop in a chain. If you have set up multiple redirects over time — for example because a page moved twice — it is worth consolidating them so the original URL redirects directly to the final destination.

Redirect loops

A redirect loop occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects back to URL A. The browser follows the redirects indefinitely until it gives up and shows an error. This is always a configuration mistake and needs to be fixed immediately. Browsers typically show a "too many redirects" error when this happens.

How long should a 301 redirect stay in place?

Permanently, in most cases. Once a redirect is in place, removing it means the old URL returns a 404 again. External websites may still link to the old URL years later, and visitors may have bookmarked it. There is very little cost to keeping a redirect in place indefinitely, and removing it can cause problems.

The only reason to remove a redirect is if you are certain no traffic or links still use the old URL, which is difficult to verify with confidence.

How to set up a 301 redirect

The process depends on your platform. For a detailed guide on setting up redirects in WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow, Apache, nginx, and Laravel, see the guide on how to fix 404 errors — the redirect section covers all major platforms in detail.

301 redirects in scan results

dislike404.com does not follow redirects — if a link on your website points to a URL that redirects, the redirect itself is logged as the result. This is intentional: a redirect on an internal link means your own page is pointing to an old URL rather than the current one. While a redirect means the visitor still lands in the right place, updating the link to point directly to the final destination is cleaner and avoids an unnecessary redirect hop.