Redirect checker
Paste up to 10 URLs and see every step of the redirect chain: status code, target, response time and headers. We also check where the chain ends: status, noindex and canonical.
What the redirect checker shows
For every URL we follow the redirect chain hop by hop, the way a search engine crawler does. For each hop you see the status code, the target from the Location header, the response time, the HTTP version and the response headers.
At the end of the chain we also read the head of the final page: meta robots and canonical, plus the X-Robots-Tag header. A redirect that ends on a page with noindex or a canonical pointing elsewhere is just as much of a problem as a broken one.
Redirect status codes
301 Moved Permanently — the page has moved for good. Search engines pass signals to the new URL. This is the code for migrations and URL changes.
308 Permanent Redirect — like 301, but the browser must keep the request method (e.g. POST). For SEO it works like 301.
302 Found and 307 Temporary Redirect — a temporary move. Google keeps the old URL in the index for longer. Fine for short campaigns or maintenance, but a common mistake after a migration.
303 See Other — used after submitting forms. Rarely what you want for content pages.
Most common redirect problems
Chains: http → https → www → trailing slash. Each step is an extra request; after a few migrations chains of 4–5 hops are common. Redirect every old URL straight to its final target.
Loops: two rules sending the URL back and forth, often after changing the https or www setting in two places (server and CDN).
Temporary instead of permanent: 302 left after a migration, because it's the default in many frameworks and plugins.
Redirect to an error or to the homepage: the target was deleted later, or every old URL was sent to the homepage — Google may treat that as a soft 404.
Why check redirects regularly
Redirects rarely break on the day they're set up. They break later: a new release overwrites the server config, someone changes a plugin, the CDN gets a new rule. A one-off check won't catch that.
IndexRise saves a baseline for every URL and compares it every night. When a redirect appears, changes its target or turns into a loop, you get a plain-language alert with what changed and when.
Questions about redirects
How do I check if a redirect is 301 or 302?
Paste the URL into the checker above. Each hop in the chain shows its status code — 301 and 308 are permanent, 302 and 307 temporary.
How many redirects in a chain is too many?
Google follows up to 10 hops, but aim for one. Every extra hop slows the page down for users and crawlers, and long chains are often a sign of rules piled up over several migrations.
What's the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 301 says the page has moved permanently, so search engines transfer signals to the new URL and replace the old one in results. A 302 says the move is temporary, so the old URL can stay in the index.
Why is the result different from what I see in my browser?
We request URLs like a search engine crawler: as IndexRiseBot, without cookies and without a language header. Sites that redirect by language, location or login state may send you somewhere else than a crawler. Bot protection can also treat us differently.
Can I check many URLs at once?
Yes, up to 10 URLs per check and 60 per hour. To watch more URLs continuously, add them to a project in IndexRise — it checks them every night.
How can I monitor redirects automatically?
Sign up for the IndexRise beta and add the URLs you care about. Every night we check status codes and redirects, and alert you when a redirect appears, changes its target or turns into a loop.