ShipcheckHTTP redirects and status codes: 301, 302, chains, and crawl waste
When to use 301 vs 302, how redirect chains hurt SEO and speed, and how to check a live URL hop by hop.
Short answer
Use 301 or 308 for permanent moves (http→https, www consolidation, renamed URLs). Use 302 or 307 only for temporary changes. Keep chains to one hop when you can—each extra redirect wastes crawl budget and adds latency. Verify with a redirect checker after deploy.
Follow hops with the free HTTP status & redirect checker. For many links on a page, use the broken link checker.
Status codes that matter
- 200 — success; page content returned.
- 301 / 308 — permanent redirect; preferred for host and HTTPS consolidation.
- 302 / 307 — temporary; do not use for permanent site moves.
- 404 / 410 — missing; soft 404s (200 with “not found” text) confuse crawlers.
- 5xx — server errors; fix before you expect indexing.
When to redirect
Redirect when a URL permanently changed: http→https, apex↔www, old slugs after a redesign, or retired blog posts that have a clear replacement. Keep the final URL in your sitemap and internal links so you are not relying on redirects forever.
Chains and crawl waste
A chain like http → https → www → final forces crawlers and browsers through multiple round trips. Collapse to one permanent hop to the final URL. Temporary redirects in a permanent migration also dilute signals—upgrade them to 301/308 when the move is done.
How to verify
After DNS or host changes, run the redirect checker on home, www, and a few deep URLs. Confirm canonicals match the final host in the canonical tags guide, and use the not indexing checklist if Search Console still shows redirect errors.
Questions
301 vs 302 — which should I use?
301 or 308 for permanent moves (HTTPS, www, renamed URLs). 302 or 307 only when the change is temporary. Search engines treat permanent redirects as stronger signals to consolidate ranking.
How many redirects is too many?
One hop is ideal. Two is usually fine. Three or more waste crawl budget and slow users—collapse the chain to a single permanent redirect to the final URL.
Do redirects replace canonical tags?
No. Redirects when a URL should no longer serve content. Canonicals when several live URLs still return 200 and you need to name a preferred one.
How do I inspect a chain?
Use the free Shipcheck redirect checker to see each hop’s status and Location header on a public URL.
Tools for this guide
HTTP status & redirect checker
Follow the redirect chain hop by hop: status codes, Location headers, HTTPS upgrades, and long chains.
Open tool →Canonical tag checker
Check rel=canonical for missing tags, www/https mismatches, and paths that do not match the live URL.
Open tool →Broken link checker
Find dead links, redirects, and missing pages on any public page.
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