Redirect Chain

A redirect chain occurs when URL A redirects to B, which redirects to C, and so on until a page finally answers with a non-redirect status. Each hop is an extra HTTP response and usually an extra round trip.

Why it matters

Every hop adds latency, often a full DNS, TCP and TLS setup if the host changes. Long chains slow mobile users, waste crawl budget, and some clients stop following after a limit: browsers give up and show a too-many-redirects error when they detect a loop or exceed their cap. Chains typically grow by accident: HTTP to HTTPS, then non-www to www, then a trailing slash, then an old migration rule.

Example

http://example.com/page
 301 -> https://example.com/page
 301 -> https://www.example.com/page
 301 -> https://www.example.com/page/
 200 OK

That is three hops. Collapse them so every legacy variant points straight at the final URL:

http://example.com/page  301 -> https://www.example.com/page/

Trace chains with curl -sIL https://example.com/page.

Common mistakes

• Fixing one redirect rule without updating older rules that point to the retired URL.
• Letting internal links point at redirecting URLs instead of the final one.
• Creating a loop when two rules each send traffic to the other.

Related

• Redirect 301/302
• Canonical redirect
• Crawl budget
• Guide: Redirects 301 vs 302

This page is general information written by our editorial team and updated when documentation changes. Servers and providers differ, so test changes safely first. See our editorial policy and disclaimer.