Why check redirects
When a page URL changes — a move to HTTPS, from www to the bare domain, a new site or a new URL structure — old links must lead to the new address via a redirect. Mistakes here cost you visitors and search rankings.
Redirect codes
- 301 Moved Permanently — the page has moved for good. Search engines pass the accumulated ranking to the new URL.
- 302 Found / 307 Temporary Redirect — a temporary redirect; the old URL stays in the index.
- 308 Permanent Redirect — like 301, but keeps the request method (for example, POST).
Common problems
- Chains such as http → https → www → final page: every step adds latency. A single redirect is better.
- Loops — the rules contradict each other and the site doesn't open at all.
- Different behaviour for bots — compare the result for a browser and for Googlebot.
The .htaccess generator will write the right rules for Apache.