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Free Redirect Checker

Trace the full redirect chain for any URL. Check 301/302 status codes, detect loops, measure response time per hop, and get a chain health score.

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How to Check Redirect Chains in 3 Steps

Step 1: Enter a URL, Redirect Checker screenshot
1

Enter a URL

Paste any URL you want to trace, a short link, an old page, or any URL you suspect has redirects. Our tool follows every hop from start to final destination.

Step 2: See the redirect chain, Redirect Checker screenshot
2

See the redirect chain

View every hop in the chain with color-coded status codes (301, 302, 307), response times per hop, server headers, and the final destination URL.

Step 3: Review health score, Redirect Checker screenshot
3

Review health score

Get a chain health score from 0 to 100 with a clear breakdown of issues to fix (too many hops, wrong status codes) and what is configured correctly.

What Are Redirect Chains and Why Do They Matter?

A redirect chain is a series of HTTP redirects that a browser must follow before reaching the final destination page. When you visit a URL, the server may respond with a 301 or 302 status code pointing to a different URL. If that second URL also redirects, you have a chain. Each link in the chain is called a "hop." A redirect checker like this tool traces every hop so you can see exactly what happens between the initial click and the final page load.

Redirect chains are a common SEO problem because they dilute link equity (the ranking power passed through links), waste search engine crawl budget, and slow down page load times. Google recommends eliminating redirect chains wherever possible and ensuring every redirect points directly to the final URL. Even a two-hop chain can measurably impact your page performance and rankings.

Example redirect chain:

http://example.com/old-page → 301 → https://example.com/old-page → 301 → https://example.com/new-page → 200 ✓

This 2-hop chain should be flattened to a single redirect from the old URL directly to the new page.

Redirect Status Codes Explained

301Moved Permanently

The URL has permanently moved to a new location. Search engines transfer full link equity to the new URL and update their index.

SEO impact

Best for permanent URL changes. Use for domain migrations, slug changes, and HTTP-to-HTTPS redirects.

302Found (Temporary)

The URL has temporarily moved. Search engines may not transfer link equity and will continue indexing the original URL.

SEO impact

Use only for truly temporary moves (A/B tests, maintenance pages). Often misused when 301 is intended.

303See Other

Used after a POST request to redirect the client to a different URL using GET. Common in form submissions.

SEO impact

Rarely relevant for SEO. Primarily used in web applications after form submissions.

307Temporary Redirect

Like 302 but guarantees the request method (POST, PUT) is preserved. The browser must use the same method for the redirected request.

SEO impact

Same SEO impact as 302, temporary, may not pass link equity. Used for HSTS redirects.

308Permanent Redirect

Like 301 but guarantees the request method is preserved. Permanent move with full link equity transfer.

SEO impact

Same SEO impact as 301, permanent, passes full link equity. Less commonly used but equally effective.

301 vs 302 Redirects: Which Should You Use?

The choice between 301 and 302 redirects has significant SEO implications. A 301 (Moved Permanently) tells search engines to transfer all link equity from the old URL to the new one and to update their index accordingly. This is what you want for permanent URL changes like domain migrations, slug updates, or consolidating duplicate content.

A 302 (Found / Temporary) tells search engines the move is temporary and they should keep the old URL in their index. This is appropriate for A/B tests, geo-redirects, or maintenance pages where you intend to restore the original URL. Using a 302 when you mean 301 is one of the most common technical SEO mistakes. It can prevent your new URL from ranking and cause the old URL to remain in search results indefinitely.

Feature

301 Permanent

302 Temporary

Link equity transfer

Yes, full transfer

Partial or none

Search index update

New URL replaces old

Old URL stays indexed

Browser caching

Cached permanently

Not cached

Use for site migrations

✓ Recommended

✗ Not recommended

Use for A/B tests

✗ Not recommended

✓ Recommended

Use for HTTPS upgrade

✓ Recommended

✗ Not recommended

Common Redirect Mistakes to Avoid

Using 302 instead of 301

The most common redirect mistake. When a URL change is permanent (which it usually is), use 301, not 302. A 302 tells search engines the move is temporary, so they may not transfer ranking power to the new URL. Many CMS platforms and plugins default to 302, always verify.

Leaving old redirect chains in place

After a site migration or URL restructure, old redirects stack up. Page A redirects to B, which was later redirected to C. Instead of a direct A-to-C redirect, you now have a chain. Audit your redirects regularly and flatten chains to single hops.

Redirect loops from conflicting rules

A common cause: your server forces HTTPS, but your CMS forces HTTP. Or www redirects to non-www at the server level, but the CMS redirects back to www. These conflicting rules create infinite loops. Always check for rule conflicts after adding new redirects.

Not redirecting all URL variations

When moving a page, you need to redirect all variations: with and without trailing slash, with and without www, HTTP and HTTPS versions. Missing any variation means some links will 404 instead of reaching the new page.

Redirecting to a page that also redirects

Before setting up a redirect, check that the target URL is the final destination. If you redirect to a URL that itself redirects, you create an unnecessary chain. Use this redirect checker to verify the target URL before configuring your redirect.

Not updating internal links after redirect

After setting up a redirect, update all internal links on your site to point directly to the new URL. Leaving old internal links means every internal click goes through a redirect, wasting server resources and adding latency for your users.

Redirect Checker + Link Shortener: Why You Need Both

Identify redirect chains with the checker, then eliminate them with Flyn short links that go straight to the final destination.

Single-hop redirects

Flyn short links use one fast redirect to the final URL. No chains, no wasted hops, no lost link equity.

SEO-safe 301 redirects

Choose 301 or 302 per link. Flyn defaults to the SEO-friendly option so you never accidentally use the wrong one.

Sub-50ms redirects

Flyn redirects complete in under 50ms globally. Compare that to multi-second redirect chains.

Click analytics included

Every redirect through Flyn is tracked with device, location, referrer, and time-series analytics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a redirect chain?
A redirect chain occurs when a URL redirects to another URL, which then redirects to yet another URL, creating a series of hops before reaching the final destination. For example: page-a.html redirects to page-b.html, which redirects to page-c.html. Each hop adds latency, wastes crawl budget, and dilutes link equity (PageRank). Ideally, every URL should redirect directly to the final destination in a single hop.
What is the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect?
A 301 redirect means "Moved Permanently", it tells search engines that the old URL has permanently moved to the new URL and all link equity (ranking power) should be transferred. A 302 redirect means "Found" or "Moved Temporarily". It tells search engines the move is temporary and they should keep indexing the old URL. For SEO, always use 301 redirects for permanent URL changes. Using 302 when you mean 301 can prevent link equity from passing to the new URL.
How do redirect chains affect SEO?
Redirect chains hurt SEO in three ways. First, each hop loses a small amount of link equity (PageRank), so a 3-hop chain passes less ranking power than a direct link. Second, search engine crawlers have a limited crawl budget, redirect chains waste it by forcing multiple requests per URL. Third, long chains increase page load time, which is a ranking factor. Google recommends keeping redirect chains to a maximum of one hop.
What is a redirect loop?
A redirect loop occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, and URL B redirects back to URL A (or through a longer chain that eventually circles back). This creates an infinite loop that prevents the page from ever loading. Browsers will show an error like "ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS." Redirect loops are usually caused by misconfigured server rules, conflicting CMS settings, or SSL/non-SSL redirect conflicts.
How do I fix a redirect chain?
To fix a redirect chain, update each intermediate redirect to point directly to the final destination URL. For example, if A redirects to B redirects to C, update A to redirect directly to C and remove the B redirect entirely. In Apache, update your .htaccess rules. In Nginx, update your server config. In WordPress, use a plugin like Redirection to manage and flatten your redirect rules. After fixing, use this redirect checker tool to verify the chain is resolved.
How many redirects are too many?
Google follows up to 10 redirects in a chain, but best practice is zero to one redirect per URL. Even two redirects in a chain should be fixed. Each redirect adds 50-500ms of latency and loses a small percentage of link equity. Our redirect checker scores chains with 0-1 redirects as healthy, 2 as moderate, and 3+ as needing attention.
What HTTP status codes indicate a redirect?
The main redirect status codes are: 301 (Moved Permanently), 302 (Found / Moved Temporarily), 303 (See Other, used after POST requests), 307 (Temporary Redirect, preserves request method), and 308 (Permanent Redirect, like 301 but preserves request method). For SEO purposes, 301 and 308 pass full link equity, while 302, 303, and 307 may not pass link equity depending on the search engine.
Do redirects affect page load speed?
Yes. Every redirect adds a full HTTP round-trip: DNS lookup, TCP connection, TLS handshake, and server processing. Each hop typically adds 50-500ms depending on server location and response time. A 3-hop redirect chain can add over a second to your page load time. This directly impacts Core Web Vitals (specifically Time to First Byte) and user experience. Our tool measures response time per hop so you can identify the slowest redirects.
How do I check redirects for an entire website?
This tool checks one URL at a time for detailed chain analysis. For a full-site redirect audit, use a site crawler like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Ahrefs Site Audit. These tools crawl all pages on your site and flag redirect chains, loops, and broken redirects in bulk. Use our tool for quick, detailed analysis of specific URLs or to verify fixes.
Can a short URL cause redirect chains?
Yes. URL shorteners like Bitly, TinyURL, or custom short links add at least one redirect hop. If the destination URL also has redirects (HTTP to HTTPS, www to non-www, old page to new page), you can end up with 3-4 redirects before reaching the final page. With Flyn, our short links use a single fast 302/301 redirect and our redirect checker helps you identify any additional hops in the destination URL.
Is this redirect checker free?
Yes, this redirect checker is 100% free with no sign-up required. You can trace unlimited redirect chains, detect loops, check status codes, measure response times, and track your check history, all without creating an account. If you want to create clean short links that skip redirect chains entirely, you can sign up for a free Flyn account.

More Free Marketing Tools

Explore other free tools from Flyn to grow your campaigns and track performance. No server access? Generate one with the meta refresh redirect generator. Mid-migration? Follow the website migration redirect checklist. Unsure which status code to serve? Read 301 vs 302 redirects.

Outbound Link Checker

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HTAccess Redirect Generator

Build Apache 301/302 redirect rules, test them here after deploy.

NGINX Redirect Generator

Build nginx server-block redirect config, return 301 vs rewrite.

WordPress Redirect Generator

Redirection plugin JSON imports + PHP for functions.php / mu-plugins, verify with the checker above.

Shopify Redirect Generator

Bulk URL Redirects CSV for Shopify, run the checker after import to confirm one-hop resolution.

Webflow Redirect Generator

Webflow Old Path → Redirect to Path 301 rules with wildcards.

Squarespace Redirect Generator

Squarespace URL Mappings 301/302 rules (/old -> /new 301) with [slug] capture.

Internal Link Checker

Audit internal link structure on any page, path depth, duplicates, nofollow audits.

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