About the Redirect Checker
This tool follows a URL's redirect chain one hop at a time and shows every step: the URL requested, the HTTP status code (301, 302, 307, 308 and so on), the Location it points to, the Server and Content-Type headers, and how long each hop took. The summary gives the number of redirects, the final status, the total time, and whether the chain upgraded from HTTP to HTTPS.
Use it to confirm that http:// and non-www variants land on your canonical URL in a single hop, to debug a redirect loop. The chain stops if a URL repeats (a loop) or after 15 hops. Only HTTP redirects are followed: a <meta http-equiv="refresh"> tag or a JavaScript redirect ends the chain at that page.
How to use it
- Enter a URL or a bare domain. Without a scheme,
https://is assumed, so typehttp://explicitly to test the HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect. - Select Follow.
- Read the hops from top to bottom; the last one is the final destination.
Examples
- Follow http://example.com: see whether plain HTTP is redirected.
- Follow http://github.com: a
301to HTTPS in one hop. - Follow https://www.google.com: a URL that answers directly with no redirect.
Common questions
Should I use a 301 or a 302 redirect?
Use 301 (or 308) for permanent moves so search engines transfer the old URL's signals to the new one. Use 302 (or 307) for temporary redirects. 307 and 308 also keep the request method.
How many redirects are too many?
Aim for one. Each hop adds a round trip, and crawlers stop following long chains; Google follows up to 10 hops.
What causes a redirect loop?
Rules that send traffic back and forth, often an HTTPS redirect on the origin combined with a proxy or CDN that connects to the origin over HTTP.
Related tools
- SSL Certificate Checker: check the certificate on the final HTTPS URL.
- Meta Tag & Open Graph Checker: confirm the final page's canonical link.
- HTTP Request Builder: send a custom request to any hop.