HTTP 302 codes are a valuable way to redirect website users to a different URL temporarily. However, if your website is delivering 302 redirects in error, it’s a sign that something’s wrong.
Don’t worry — you can fix this problem — but you’ll need to do some troubleshooting.
The first step is to understand precisely what HTTP 302 codes are, how they work, and why they occur. Once you know that, you can figure out what’s gone wrong and how to make it right.
In this post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about HTTP 302 errors. Then we’ll share five troubleshooting tips to help you fix them.
Let’s get started!
Check Out Our Video Guide to The 302 HTTP Status Code
What Are HTTP 302 Status Codes?
302 codes are a specific type of HTTP status code. These codes are like “notes” that a server delivers to your browser.
Whenever you click on a link or navigate to a URL, your browser requests the webserver for the same. In return, the server sends back the relevant resource (e.g. the page you’re trying to access) along with an HTTP header. The HTTP status codes are inside that header.
Typically, you can’t see these status codes anywhere on the web page. You’ll only usually see them when an error occurs, or if you’ve installed a browser extension that makes them visible:
3xx status codes (301, 302, etc.) are a class of status codes called “redirection codes.” They’re returned whenever the server sends back a new resource instead of the requested resource.
In other words, they’re shown when the website page you intended to access redirects you to a different page.
The critical difference between code 301 and code 302 is that the former is used for permanent redirects, whereas the latter is for temporary redirects.
The 301 redirects also pass “link juice,” whereas 302s don’t. That has a significant impact on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Uh oh… you’ve just seen an HTTP 302 code pop up. 😬 Now what? 🤷♀️ Start with this thorough guide ⤵Click to Tweet
How 302 Redirects Work
When you set up a 302 redirect for a page on your website that’s temporarily unavailable, and a user visits that page, your webserver will respond to the visitor’s browser with a special Location header. This header will indicate the new URL that the browser should redirect the user to instead.
For example, imagine that a user types blog.example.com into their browser URL bar, but the website is configured to redirect it to blogging.example.com.
The server response will include both the 302 status code and the Location: blogging.example.com header. This setting tells the user’s browser to redirect this request to the new URL instead.
Of course, all of this happens automatically and behind the scenes. The user shouldn’t be able to see any of this play out. Instead, their browser should automatically take them to the new resource.
Why HTTP 302 Errors Happen
If something is misconfigured on your website, it might cause 302 codes to be issued in error. If this happens, you may run into problems such as:
- A page on your website that redirects your visitors elsewhere when it shouldn’t
- A page on your website that redirects your visitors to the wrong resource
- The ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error (also known as a “redirect loop”)
The last of these issues is the only one that will display an actual error page. If you’re using the Chrome browser, a redirect loop error page will look something like this:
On Mozilla Firefox, it looks like this:
All of the above problems are caused by some misconfiguration. It may be a plugin conflict, incorrect URL settings, or a misconfigured .htaccess file.
How to Fix the HTTP 302 Error (5 Methods)
Next, we’ll walk you through five troubleshooting methods that can help you figure out what’s causing the problem and fix it.
Before we get started, make sure to perform a complete backup of your website first. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can always revert to the previous version. You can use a WordPress plugin to do this.
1. Determine Whether the Redirects Are Valid
302 responses are usually not errors. Temporarily redirecting users to a different page can be a valid configuration and isn’t usually something that requires fixing.
It’s only an error if your website is responding with 302 codes that it shouldn’t be issuing, or if it’s causing a redirect loop. Therefore, the first step is to double-check which URLs are generating the HTTP 302 codes and determine whether the redirect is appropriate or not.
To do so, you can navigate to the pages on your website you suspect of issuing the 302 error and see for yourself if they behave as expected. If a temporarily unavailable page redirects to the correct resource, it’s appropriately configured.
However, if a page redirects you to the wrong resource or your browser reports a redirect loop by bringing up an ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error page, it’s a sign that one (or more) of your redirects isn’t configured quite right.
2. Check Your Plugins
One of the most common causes of 302 errors and redirect loops is plugins.
Some WordPress redirect manager plugins and SEO tools like Yoast SEO manage your website redirects for you and enable you to set up redirect rules:
If these rules are misconfigured, or if two plugins conflict, it can cause unexpected issues. Therefore, you’ll need to check each relevant tool that’s installed on your site.
For example, if you’re using the popular 301 Redirects WordPress plugin, you can check the configuration by navigating to Settings > 301 Redirects. Under Redirect Rules, you’ll see a list of all the redirect rules you’ve set up:
Check all the 302 redirects listed here, and make sure they’re all correct.
You’ll also want to ensure that you haven’t set up anything in a way that could cause a redirect loop. For example, if Page-A is set to redirect to Page-B, but Page-B is also set to redirect to Page-A, this will cause an error.
If you have multiple redirect manager plugins and you’re not sure which one is causing the issue, you can try deactivating them one by one from the WordPress Plugins page (be sure to make a backup first):
After deactivating each plugin, try revisiting the problem URL to see if the 302 error persists.
If the problem is suddenly fixed, you’ll know which plugin was causing the issue, and you can then choose to troubleshoot further or remove it from your site.
3. Ensure That Your WordPress URL Settings Are Configured Correctly
Another common cause of the HTTP 302 error is a misconfiguration in the WordPress URL settings.
To check this, navigate to Settings > General in your WordPress dashboard. Here, you should see a WordPress Address (URL) field and a Site Address (URL) field:
In most cases, the URLs in both of these fields should match. Make sure they’re both the same, including the “www” portion (or lack thereof) before the domain name.
If they don’t match, update the settings, then check the URL of the page issuing the HTTP 302 error to see if it’s fixed.
4. Check Your Server Configuration
A misconfigured server can also sometimes cause 302 redirect errors. Therefore, the next step is to check your server configuration.
If your host uses the Apache webserver, you can do this by checking your.htaccess file.
First, connect to your site’s server via a control dashboard like cPanel or an FTP client. Then navigate to the root directory of your site — the same place as the wp-admin and wp-content folders — and find the .htaccess file:
If you aren’t finding the .htaccess file here (and you’re sure on an Apache server), you may need to tell FileZilla to show hidden files before it’ll appear in the file list.
Next, open the file in your favorite text editor. It should look something like this:
Now, we’re going to look for RewriteXXX directives (the highlighted elements above). Without getting too technical, RewriteCond and RewriteRule directives are used to perform redirections from one URL to another.
The RewriteCond directive specifies the URL you want to redirect the visitor away from, while the RewriteRule directive specifies the URL you want to redirect them to. Here’s an example:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^website.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.temporary-website.com/$1 [R=302]The flag at the end, “[R=302]”, tells the browser that this is a temporary 302 redirect.
If you notice any RewriteXXX combinations similar to the above in your .htaccess file that shouldn’t be there, you can comment them out, save the changes, and reload the problem web page to see if it resolves the issue.
Just make sure to download and save a spare copy of your .htaccess file before you make any changes in case something goes wrong.
5. Speak to Your Web Host
If you’ve tried all of the above methods and you’re still having trouble, the next step is to speak to your web host.
Troubleshooting a 302 code error beyond this point requires a lot of technical know-how. Therefore, unless you’re a professional developer, it’s probably best to get help from an expert.
At Kinsta, we take support seriously. Our team of experts is always on-hand to help you resolve issues like this whenever they arise:
We’re available 24/7. All you have to do is log in to your MyKinsta account and contact us via live chat to connect with a support engineer who can help in real-time.
Don’t let HTTP 302 codes slow your roll. 🙅♀️ Learn how to resolve them with these 5 troubleshooting tips 💥Click to Tweet
Summary
HTTP 302 status codes are a completely normal way to redirect your website visitors. However, they should only be used when the resource page is temporarily unavailable.
Suppose your website is issuing 302 codes in error or causing redirect loops. In that case, it’s vital to fix this problem as soon as possible, or it may negatively impact your SEO and conversions.
You can follow these five steps to fix HTTP 302 errors on your website:
- Determine whether the redirects are appropriate or not by examining the URLs that are issuing the 302 redirects.
- Check your plugins to make sure any redirect settings are valid.
- Ensure that your WordPress URL settings are configured correctly.
- Check your server configuration by looking for incorrect
RewriteXXXdirectives in your .htaccess file (Apache servers only). - Speak to your web host for further technical support if the problem persists.
Do you have any questions left about the HTTP 302 error? Let us know in the comments section.
This question was asked a long ago, while the RFC 2616 was still hanging around. Some answers to this question are based in such document, which is no longer relevant nowadays. Quoting Mark Nottingham who, at the time of writing, co-chairs the IETF HTTP and QUIC Working Groups:
Don’t use RFC2616. Delete it from your hard drives, bookmarks, and burn (or responsibly recycle) any copies that are printed out.
The old RFC 2616 has been supplanted by the following documents that, together, define the HTTP/1.1 protocol:
- RFC 7230: Message Syntax and Routing
- RFC 7231: Semantics and Content
- RFC 7232: Conditional Requests
- RFC 7233: Range Requests
- RFC 7234: Caching
- RFC 7235: Authentication
And, as of June 2022, a new set of RFCs obsoleted the documents listed above:
- RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics
- RFC 9111: HTTP Caching
- RFC 9112: HTTP/1.1
So I aim to provide an answer based in the RFC 9110, which is the current reference for the HTTP semantics.
The 302 status code
A response with 302 is a common way of performing URL redirection. Along with the 302 status code, the response should include a Location header with a different URI. Such header will be parsed by the user agent and then perform the redirection:
Web browsers may change from POST to GET in the subsequent request. If this behavior is undesired, the 307 (Temporary Redirect) status code can be used instead.
This is how the 302 status code is defined in the RFC 9110:
6.4.3. 302 Found
The
302(Found) status code indicates that the target resource
resides temporarily under a different URI. Since the redirection
might be altered on occasion, the client ought to continue to use the
target URI for future requests.The server SHOULD generate a
Locationheader field in the response
containing a URI reference for the different URI. The user agent MAY
use theLocationfield value for automatic redirection. The server’s
response content usually contains a short hypertext note with a
hyperlink to the different URI(s).Note: For historical reasons, a user agent MAY change the
request method fromPOSTtoGETfor the subsequent request. If
this behavior is undesired, the307(Temporary Redirect) status
code can be used instead.
According to MDN web docs from Mozilla, a typical use case for [302]302] is:
The Web page is temporarily not available for reasons that have not been unforeseen. That way, search engines don’t update their links.
Other status codes for redirection
The RFC 9110 defines the following status codes for redirection (some of these status codes were originally defined in other RFCs, but have all been consolidated in the RFC 9110):
301: Moved Permanently302: Found307: Temporary Redirect308: Permanent Redirect
Refer to this answer for further details.
Whenever we get a HTTP 302 error, it requires a redirect and the same questions usually arise:
Here are some of the questions:
- Is my website ready for it?
- What type of redirection is the most appropriate for my case?
- Will I lose all the SEO work I’ve done so far?
- Will Google penalize me? What happens if I eliminate redirects?
- How are they made?
- How do I fix error 302? (if it occurs)
In this article, I will answer all these questions so that you have more clarity to proceed in each case.
What is 302 redirect?
Code 302 indicates a temporary redirection.
One of the most notable features that differentiate it from a 301 redirect is that, in the case of 302 redirects, the strength of the SEO is not transferred to a new URL.
This is because this redirection has been designed to be used when there is a need to redirect content to a page that will not be the definitive one.
Thus, once the redirection is eliminated, the original page will not have lost its positioning in the Google search engine.
Although it is not very common that we find ourselves in need of a 302 redirect, this option can be very useful in some cases. These are the most frequent cases:
- When we realize that there is some inappropriate content on a page. While we solve the problem, we can redirect the user to another page that may be of interest.
- In the event that an attack on our website requires the restoration of any of the pages, this redirect can help us minimize the incidence.
A redirect 302 is a code that tells visitors of a specific URL that the page has been moved temporarily, directing them directly to the new location.
In other words, redirect 302 is activated when Google robots or other search engines request to load a specific page. At that moment, thanks to this redirection, the server returns an automatic response indicating a new URL.
In this way errors and annoyances are avoided both to search engines and users, guaranteeing smooth navigation.
What is a redirect 302 for?
The redirect 302 serves, for example, to have several versions of a homepage in different languages.
The main one can be in English, but if the visitors come from other countries then this system automatically redirects them to a page in their language.
In this way, a mobilization of web traffic is achieved, but at the same time, the influence at the SEO level of the main page is not diluted. This continues to grow, even though there is no transfer of authority, as we explained earlier.
HTTP 302 redirect example
The most common HTTP 302 redirect example case is Google.
Regardless of the country from which you access, if you type in https://www.google.com/, you will be redirected to the Google version in the language/country that corresponds to you.
In case of Germany, 302 automatically take us to https://www.google.de/ so that we can search for content in German.
Portals of successful companies such as Coca-Cola or even Fujitsu also use this system to redirect traffic to where they consider most convenient.
Here are some of the most common reasons for the 302 redirect error:
- Using 302 redirects while the domain is moving;
- Creating a 302 redirect when you move the document;
- Using a 302 redirect during site protocol change;
- Creating 302 redirects while site structure is changing.
HTML redirect 302 is not recommended when the method of the original request is to be applied to the request of the destination URL — for example, moving the URL of a form directive that uses the POST method for a specific period.
You should not use the status code 302 if you want to transfer SEO-weight to the destination URL.
How to identify HTTP 302 error?
Verifying that the 301 and 302 redirect settings are correct is very easy.
When entering into the address bar of the old address, we observe what is happening.
The change of address indicates that everything is fine with the redirect.
The address remains the same – you need to look for the source of the problem, but first, we advise you to clean the cache and try again.
There is another option – to apply for checking the server response code to online services, for example, http://example.com/e_redirect/.
If you set up a redirect correctly, after entering the domain name, you will see the response code 301 or 302. It depends on what kind of redirection you planned to receive initially.
Some services additionally display the code given by the server after the redirect, and here there is only one valid option – 200 OK.
How to fix HTTP 302 error?
Method 1: Check the server configuration
The application may run on the server that uses one of these two most common web server programs, Nginx or Apache. These two web servers account for more than 84 percent of the global web server program!
Therefore, the first step in determining the 302 response code is checking the mandatory redirect instructions in the webserver program configuration file.
For Apache web Server
Step 1: Open .htaccess file on the server
To identify the webserver, you need to find the key file. If you are using the Apache web server, locate the .htaccess file in your site’s root filesystem.
If your program is on the shared host, you might have your username linked to the host account, for example. In this case, usually, the directory of application root is located in the path:
/home/<username>/public_html/path, thus the .htaccess file is located at /home/<username>/public_html/.htaccess.
Step 2: Find the mod_rewrite directives
Once you find .htaccess file, open it in text-editor and find the line that uses the RewriteXXX directives belonging to the Apache mod_rewrite module.
However, the core idea is that the RewriteCond directive outlines a text model that is compared to the registered URL. When a visitor requests the corresponding URL on a site, the RewriteRule directive which tracks one or multiple RewriteCond instructions will actually redirect the request toward the corresponding URL.
For instance, the following is an easy combination of RewriteRule and RewriteCond that satisfies all the requirements of example.com, but instead inserts a temporary redirect into the same URI in the temporary domain — example.com:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ HTTP://www.temporary-example.com/$1 [R=302]
Notice the additional banner at the bottom of RewriteRule, which clearly illustrates that a response code has to be 302, showing to the browser agent that it is a temporary redirect.
Step 3: Reset the directives in .htaccess file
# BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index.php$ – [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
# END WordPress
Therefore, if you get an unusual RewriteRule or RewriteCond directive in your .htaccess file that doesn’t seem to fit to it, try to temporarily annotate them (prefixed with #) and restart the webserver to check if the issue is resolved.
For Nginx web server
Step 1: Open the nginx.conf file
If your web server is operating on Nginx, you should look for a totally different file of configuration. This file is specified as nginx.conf by default and found in one of the common directories listed below:
/usr/local/nginx/conf, /etc/nginx or, /usr/local/etc/nginx.
Step 2: Rewrite the directives on nginx.conf file
After detection, open the nginx.conf file in your text editor and find the rewrite directives that are relating to the redirect indicator.
For example, this is a plain block directive (declared a set of statements) that sets up the virtual server through generating a temporary redirect from abc.com to a temporary-abc.com:
server {
listen 80;
listen 443 ssl;
server_name www.abc.com;
rewrite ^/$ http://www.temporary-abc.com redirect;
}
Nginx rewrites directives are parallel to Apache RewriteRule and
RewriteCond because they usually comprise more complicated text-oriented search patterns.
Step 3: Check the replacement policy of nginx.conf file
In any case, check the nginx.conf file for the exception replacement policy that contains a redirect flag (other permanent flag return response code 301).
Please note any exceptions before you restart the server in order to check if the problem is resolved.
Method 2: Search for out-of-date software
The specification document of RFC for HTTP 1.0 states that the aim of a “302 Found” response code is intended to indicate that the client should execute a temporary redirect.
However, many new browsers will process the code 302 received through the POST request as an invalid GET request.
This has triggered snags and confusion with particular web server programs that attempt to force the browser to perform the right work when it needs to be redirected temporarily.
To solve this problem, the RFC HTTP 1.1 specification document returned 303 response codes, another 307 temporary redirects, which is an understandable way to manage POST-to-GET or temporary, transient responses.
Method 3: Cleaning the Logs
Almost all web applications store records on the server. The application log usually represents the application history, like which pages, servers were requested and connected, which were obtained from the provided database, and so on.
The server logs are connected to the current device that runs the programs and usually contains information about the status and health of all the connected services, and even the information about the server.
Google record [PLATFORM_NAME] in the CMS or use [PROGRAMMING_LANGUAGE] to register and register [OPERATING_SYSTEM] when launching the custom application for more information to get these records.
Method 4: Fix the application code
In the case, all the above-discussed methods fail, the problem may be in the user code of the application that caused the problem.
Try to determine the cause of the problem by manually locating the application and analyzing it in the server and application log files.
It’s a good idea to copy the full application to your local development computer and step through it to see exactly what happens to the 302 scans and see the code for each application.
HTTP 302 Error: Conclusion
Finally, as you have seen, we do not have to fear a lot about the HTTP 302 redirect errors. Without going any further, they are a fantastic way to avoid losing traffic on our web pages with the inevitable changes that arise over the years.
I hope that, after reading this article, you will not get chills every time about how do I fix the 302 moved temporarily error.
Whether you want to make a contribution to the post or if you have a question or just want to give your opinion, do not hesitate to comment below!
If you’ve spent any time on the internet, chances are you’ve encountered an HTTP status code.
In simple terms, HTTP status codes are standard response codes that show the relationship between all the things that go on in the background when you travel from web page to web page. Things like the user agent (i.e., your web browser), the server, the web page you’re trying to load, and any third-party web applications you might be running.
![Download Now: SEO Starter Pack [Free Kit]](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/53/1d7211ac-7b1b-4405-b940-54b8acedb26e.png)
Because of the complexity of how all those elements interact, there are many possible HTTP status codes you can run up against.
HTTP status codes identify and diagnose the particular blocker preventing you from loading a resource, and can give you information about the journey you took on the way to a page.
In this article, we’ll cover what you need to know about the HTTP 302 status code – jargon-free.
What is an HTTP 302?
The 302 status code is a redirection message that occurs when a resource or page you’re attempting to load has been temporarily moved to a different location. It’s usually caused by the web server and doesn’t impact the user experience, as the redirect happens automatically.
For starters, it’s helpful to know that all HTTP messages with 3xx are redirection messages.
Say blog.hubspot.com no longer exists, and the content is now permanently housed on blogging.hubspot.com. This would trigger a 301 status code, which indicates a permanent redirection from one location to another.
The 302 redirect, on the other hand, is only temporary. A good example of when to use a 302 status code is for localization and language purposes.
For instance, if you visit a clothing website based in the United Kingdom but you are located in the United States. A 302 redirect would send you to the US version of the site to ensure the currency and other content are displayed correctly, according to your location.
You can also use a 302 status code when:
- Redesigning a page – You can send users to a temporary location while the other page is under construction.
- Conducting A/B tests – Want to test a new page and get feedback on its performance? You can do this with a 302 redirect without hurting your ranking.
- Running a promotion – To drive traffic to a particular offer, you can set up a temporary redirect for a page that usually includes other content.
- A product is sold out – In the case of a sold-out or temporarily unavailable product, you can redirect users to a related page until it is available again.
While this list is not exhaustive, here’s the golden rule to keep in mind: Only use a 302 redirect if the change is temporary.
Furthermore, a 302 status code happens on the server-side and shouldn’t be noticed by users if set up correctly. The web server serving up the 302 redirect will immediately indicate the new location of the page to your browser (and search engines) and should send users there right away.
How a 302 Status Code Affects SEO
From an SEO perspective, it’s important to understand how a 302 status code can impact your ranking and when you should use it.
Firstly, if the location of a page has changed and a redirect has not been set up, this can lead to a 404 status error (i.e., your page cannot be found) and affect your ranking. After all, Google won’t want to send users to a page that leads to nowhere.
One benefit of using a redirect like this is that you don’t have to sacrifice your ranking when you temporarily send users elsewhere.
Say you’re using it to redirect users from a sold-out product page to a relevant product page. You wouldn’t want your unavailable product’s page to drop in ranking, just because it’s currently unavailable. With a 302 status code, you can maintain your ranking.
However, this also means that your temporary URL will not benefit from any link juice because Google knows it won’t be there long.
For comparison, a 301 code typically sends most link equity to your new URL, but your page can experience some drop in ranking as a result of the redirect.
How to Identify & Implement an HTTP 302 Error
If you want to see when you’ve encountered a 302 redirect (or any type of redirect), consider using an application or Chrome extension (like this one, Redirect Path). This type of tool will show you directly in your browser when you run into a redirect. Tools like Pulsetic can be used to monitor websites and send alerts for server or website errors.
You can also view and implement the code from the backend by accessing your .htaccess file. To avoid accessing this file, you can also install a redirect manager plugin or an SEO tool that includes a redirect manager (like Yoast SEO Premium).
Overall, you want to make sure you understand how redirection messages affect SEO. A 302 status code can be a great strategy when making temporary changes to your website, like testing new website features and product promotions.
So, when you’re debating between various redirection messages, make sure the one you choose aligns with your long-term strategy.
When maintaining your website, you’ll come across a variety of status codes. Today, we’re going to dive into what a 302 redirect code is and when you should use one. Though, for the most part, 302s are those which you want to avoid if at all possible.
Before delving into the 302 status code properly, let’s talk a bit about HTTP protocol in general.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) Status Codes
The internet is made of 2 core themes, web clients and servers.
Web clients are your browser, which could be platforms like Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. The point is that you usually access the internet using any of these clients.
Usually, whenever you request a website, you are accessing data from a web server. You make your request and the server responds. This is what happens every single time you view any content online.
You make this request using the HTTP protocol. Protocols are languages that everyone on the internet agrees to use for simplicity. A client requests the server, and status codes let us know whether the request was a success, a failure, or something in between.
HTTP codes are of various forms:
- 1xx: informational requests
- 2xx: successful requests
- 3xx: redirects/ redirection
- 4xx: client errors
- 5xx: server errors
The 3xx are for redirects. This is when an address was requested, but you were sent somewhere else.
For example, let’s say you want to visit https://www.someoneswebsite.com and you wind up viewing https://www.adifferentwebsite.com. This is usually the result of a redirect.
This happens a lot when web developers change the slugs or URLs of posts and pages. Though, usually, these are 301 redirects, which tells search engines the move is permanent.
301 vs 302 redirects
A 301 is a permanent redirect. An example of this is if you apply a 301 redirect to a site “abc.com” to redirect to “xyz.com” permanently. Thus every time someone visits abc.com, they are redirected to xyz.com.
Also, a 301 redirect helps tell Google that you have changed URLs.
All existing ranking moves from the old URL to the new site. This is a permanent move, more like changing addresses and having your mail forwarded to your new address. It might take some time for everyone to catch up, but eventually, they do.
A 302 redirect, as said before, is temporary. This means you plan on moving back to the old site in the near future.
Also, 301 redirects pass “link juice,” whereas 302 redirects do not.
Why is this so important?
Link juice is a search engine ranking factor based on the theory that particular links convey value and authority from one page to the next. It’s a method to see how people are talking about your content, website, and brand.
It is a fantastic method to raise brand awareness, build your reputation, and promote yourself as a reference in your field.
Search engine optimization can suffer as a result of 302 not passing this link juice.
What About Meta Refresh?
Meta refresh is another form of redirect often compared to 301 and 302.
A Meta refresh redirect is a client-side redirect. Unlike 301 and 302 redirects that happen on the web server, it informs the web browser to navigate to a different web page after a certain amount of time has passed.
A five-second countdown with the text “If you are not redirected in five seconds click here” is most usually linked with meta-refresh redirection.
In many circumstances, utilizing a meta refresh redirect can result in confusing your users, they are more vulnerable to spammers, and they also do not pass any link juice. This is bad for many reasons.
What is HTTP 302 status code?
A 302 Found message is an HTTP response status code that indicates that the requested resource has been relocated to a new URL temporarily.
The web server is frequently the cause of it, unlike client error replies found in the 4xx codes, such as the 404 Not Found Error. This can be caused by either a client-side or server-side issue and the user experience is unaffected because the redirect occurs automatically.
Although a browser redirects to this page, search engines do not update their links to the resource (the “link-juice” is not transmitted to the new URL in “SEO-speak”).
A client that receives a 302 Found response code should continue to utilize the original URL for subsequent queries because the location or current redirection directive may be altered.
For instance, what if you’re visiting a clothing website in the United States while you are located in Germany? A 302 redirect would send you to the German version of the site to ensure that currency and other contents are displayed according to your location.
When can you use the 302 status code?
Mostly, rather than being an error, an HTTP 302 response is intended for redirection. Some of the most typical reasons for using a 302 redirect include:
- Redesigning a page — While the other page is being built, you can redirect users to a temporary location.
- Performing A/B testing or site maintenance – Want to put a new page to the test and get feedback on how it performs? You can do this without harming your ranking by using a 302 redirect.
- Promoting a product – You can use a temporary redirect for a page that ordinarily contains other information to drive users to a specific offer.
- A product is sold out — If a product is sold out or temporarily unavailable, consumers can be redirected to a comparable page until it is restocked.
- If the content is broken and you would like traffic redirected to another page
- When you want to collect some data
How to use 302 on your WordPress website
First, log in to your hosting account and open cPanel. Navigate to the domains and select redirect.
On the redirect settings, you select the redirect type with a dropdown box. In this case, it is temporary (302). Select the domain in question, enter the address you wish to redirect to, and then select add.
With this, your redirect has been added.
To remove this redirect, go to the link of redirects, click on delete and then click on remove redirect.
You can also redirect within a website. For instance, you can redirect people from the about us page to the contact us page.
The steps are similar to the above with some changes. After selecting the domain in the box just below, which you left empty previously, enter you’re about us page name as your directory. For the redirection address, select the contact us page name. Add, and then your redirection has been added.
Doing the redirect yourself doesn’t come highly recommended unless you are a highly technical individual. You can make mistakes with your redirects.
One significant implication of this is that you lose traffic to your site. When corrections are made, if you’re lucky, you may get up to 90% of where you were, and even this would take some time.
Why does error 302 occur?
The 302 codes are not usually error messages and don’t usually require fixing. It is only an error if your website is responding with 302 codes that it shouldn’t, and when it responds with a redirect loop, such as ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS.
Though, 302 codes may be issued inadvertently if something on your website is configured incorrectly. If this occurs, you may encounter issues like when a page on your website unintentionally sends visitors somewhere else.
From Google Chrome, the ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS error appears like this:
This issue can be the result of a configuration error, a plugin conflict, wrong URL settings, or a misconfigured .htaccess file.
How to fix the HTTP 302 error on your WordPress website
The very first thing you need to do is make sure to perform a complete backup of your website. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can always revert to the previous version.
A WordPress backup plugin comes in handy here. BlogVault WordPress backup, UpdraftPlus, JetPack backups, and WP Time capsule are a few of the best you can use.
To fix HTTP 302 error:
1. Check to see if the redirects are valid
Double-check to see which URLs are causing the 302 error and assess whether the redirect is necessary. To do so, go to the pages on your website that you believe are causing the 302 error and examine if they are functioning as expected.
It is correctly configured if a temporarily unavailable page redirects to the correct resource.
If, on the other hand, a website sends you to the incorrect resource or your browser detects a redirect loop by displaying an ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS error page, it is a sign that one (or more) of your redirects isn’t configured correctly.
2. Clear browser cookies and cache
Cookies on your web browser are also a common cause of the problem. Using a different web browser, such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, Microsoft Edge, or others, try browsing your website.
If you can visit your website normally using a different browser, you’ll need to erase your regular browser’s cookies and cache.
If changing the browser does not resolve the problem, proceed to the following step.
3. Deactivate all WordPress plugins
A plugin issue is the most prevalent cause of WordPress redirect loops or “Too many redirects.” This error is caused by a plugin attempting to set up a redirect in a way that clashes with basic WordPress redirects.
You must disable all WordPress plugins on your website to remedy this. Normally, you may deactivate plugins by going to the Plugins » All Plugins page in the WordPress admin area.
However, let’s assume that you are unable to enter the WordPress admin area.
In that case, you’ll need to use an FTP client or the File Manager tool in your WordPress hosting control panel to deactivate WordPress plugins.
Simply use an FTP client to connect to your website and navigate to the /wp-content/ folder.
You’ll find the plugins folder there, which you’ll need to rename to “plugins.deactivate” to disable the WordPress plugins.
To load the plugin files, WordPress looks for a folder called plugins. When it can’t find the folder, it disables the database’s active plugins automatically.
You can now go to your WordPress website and look around. If you can now log into your WordPress admin area, one of the plugins was likely the source of the problem.
Switch back to the FTP client or File Manager program and rename your plugins to figure out which one was the cause.
Rename the folder to “plugins” and disable it.
After that, go to the Plugins > All Plugins page in the WordPress admin area of your website. You can then activate your plugins one by one and visit your website to see whether the error can be reproduced.
Once you’ve identified the plugin that’s causing the issue, you can either find a replacement or file a bug report.
4. Fix WordPress URLs
The URLs in the WordPress Address and Site Address fields must be the same for most websites. Some users, however, may use www in one URL and non-www in the other.
These two must be the same.
Because you may not have access to the WordPress admin area, you may need to use an FTP client or the File Manager app to correct the WordPress Address and Site Address within the wp-config.php file.
5. Reset the WordPress .htaccess file
The .htaccess file is a unique file that website servers use to control redirection and other server settings. This file is also used by WordPress to create SEO-friendly URLs and other redirects.
A misconfiguration in the WordPress URL settings is another main cause of this problem. Normally, these choices can be found on the Settings » General page.
WordPress plugins might sometimes make changes to your website’s .htaccess file, resulting in this error. It’s also possible that deactivating a plugin will leave such modifications in your .htaccess file.
You’ll need to manually reset your WordPress .htaccess file in that instance. You can use the FTP client or the File Manager software in your hosting dashboard.
6. Speak to your web host
If the above suggestions don’t fix the problem, you’ll need to contact your WordPress hosting company to make sure it’s not a server problem.
If there is nothing wrong with the server, perhaps the tech support of your web host can help you troubleshoot a bit further.
Conclusion
The status 302 code redirects your site to another address temporarily. It is not always an error message. But in general, using a 302 redirect is not a good idea.
The very few situations where you would want to use a 302 redirect may not be worth the disadvantages. You may want to implement the 301 redirects instead.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The HTTP response status code 302 Found is a common way of performing URL redirection. The HTTP/1.0 specification (RFC 1945) initially defined this code, and gave it the description phrase «Moved Temporarily» rather than «Found».
An HTTP response with this status code will additionally provide a URL in the header field Location. This is an invitation to the user agent (e.g. a web browser) to make a second, otherwise identical, request to the new URL specified in the location field. The end result is a redirection to the new URL.
Many web browsers implemented this code in a manner that violated this standard, changing the request type of the new request to GET, regardless of the type employed in the original request (e.g. POST).[1] For this reason, HTTP/1.1 (RFC 2616) added the new status codes 303 and 307 to disambiguate between the two behaviours, with 303 mandating the change of request type to GET, and 307 preserving the request type as originally sent. Despite the greater clarity provided by this disambiguation, the 302 code is still employed in web frameworks to preserve compatibility with browsers that do not implement the HTTP/1.1 specification.[2]
As a consequence, RFC 7231 (the update of RFC 2616) changes the definition to allow user agents to rewrite POST to GET.[3]
Example[edit]
Client request:
GET /index.html HTTP/1.1 Host: www.example.com
Server response:
HTTP/1.1 302 Found Location: http://www.iana.org/domains/example/
See also[edit]
- List of HTTP status codes
- HTTP 301
References[edit]
- ^ Lawrence, Eric. «HTTP Methods and Redirect Status Codes». EricLaw’s IEInternals blog. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ^ «Request and response objects | Django documentation | Django». Docs.djangoproject.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
- ^ «Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content». Tools.ietf.org. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
External links[edit]
- RFC 7230, RFC 7231, RFC 7232, RFC 7233, RFC 7234, RFC 7235 (HTTP 1.1)
- RFC 2616 (HTTP 1.1) (obsolete)
- RFC 1945 (HTTP 1.0)
В статье рассказывается:
- Что такое 302 редирект
- В каких случаях необходим 302 редирект
- Когда не стоит использовать 302 редирект
- 301 и 302 редирект: в чем разница
- Так что лучше – 301 или 302 редирект
- Как настроить 302 редирект в .htaccess
- Настройка 302 редиректа с помощью PHP и JavaScript
- Как выявить 302 редирект на сайте
- Часто задаваемые вопросы про 302 редирект
Понимание, когда уместно использовать 301 и 302 редирект, входит в число обязательных знаний опытного веб-мастера. Зачастую области их применения сильно разнятся. На первый взгляд может показаться, что ошибка при их использовании не страшна, но нельзя забывать о SEO-оптимизации сайта, результаты которой могут оказаться очень далеки от ожидаемых.
Под 302 редиректом принято понимать переадресацию на некоторый период, а именно от одного до 10 дней. Такая операция свидетельствует о временном перемещении веб-страницы на другой адрес.
Временная переадресация имеет существенный недостаток – ссылочный вес страницы при этом не передается. В результате применения 302 редиректа внешние ссылки теряются, как и внутренний вес всего ресурса. Однако и польза Temporary для поисковиков и юзеров довольно ощутима.
Допустим, вы с нуля занимаетесь разработкой страницы акций, наполненной массой дополнительных функций. Процесс их внедрения займет не менее 3-4 дней с постоянным корректированием внешнего вида и исходного кода документа.
Если отказаться от использования переадресации, «сырая» страница в ходе доработки будет видна пользователям, а роботы станут выдавать ее в результатах поиска. 302 редирект делает возможным представление окончательного варианта страницы, полностью готового для просмотра и использования посетителями.
В каких случаях необходим 302 редирект
Он требуется в следующих случаях:
-
Когда на интернет-ресурсе проводятся технические работы.
-
Когда владелец сайта хочет представить пользователям другие материалы, не трогая прежний вариант страницы..
-
Когда хостинговая компания закрывает от посетителей запрещенный контент.
-
Когда есть необходимость трафик с определенного домена временно перенаправить на другой.
Когда не стоит использовать 302 редирект
Не стоит применять код статуса 302, если требуется передавать SEO-вес URL-адресу назначения.
Например, когда на постоянной основе:
-
перемещается домен;
-
перемещается документ;
-
протокол сайта изменяется;
-
структура сайта изменяется.
HTML redirect 302 не рекомендуется использовать, когда метод исходного запроса требуется применить для запроса к URL-адресу назначения. Например, перемещение на определенный период URL-адреса обработчика формы, которая использует метод POST.
301 и 302 редирект: в чем разница
Разберемся, в чем отличие 301 от 302 редиректа.
-
«Пузомерки» и ссылочный вес при использовании 302 редиректа новому URL не передаются.
С точки зрения передачи трафика 301 и 302 редиректы ведут себя одинаково: если пользователь кликает на старую ссылку, он перенаправляется на новую страницу.
-
Разница между 301 и 302 редиректами заключается в том, как исходная страница воспринимается ботами поисковиков.
В случае 301 они понимают, что старая страница больше не действует, и не перенаправляют на нее пользователей. 302 редирект, напротив, говорит им о необходимости продолжать индексирование контента страницы столько, сколько требуется.
-
В зависимости от того, выбран 301 или 302 редирект, в поисковой выдаче не будет отображаться старый вариант странички (301) или будут присутствовать оба (302).
-
Необходимо отдавать себе отчет, чем чревато попадание под фильтры поисковых систем в одном и во втором случае.
За переадресацию с кодом 301 наказание может последовать, только если будут выявлены умышленные действия, связанные со склеиванием показателей и веса разных сайтов. Что касается 302 редиректа, он нередко распознается в качестве элемента черного SEO (одного из вариантов клоакинга).
Кейс: VT-metall
Узнай как мы снизили стоимость привлечения заявки в 13 раз для металлообрабатывающей компании в Москве
Узнать как
-
При настройке понять, чем отличается 301 редирект от 302, невозможно, поскольку в обоих случаях применяются одинаковые команды.
Так что лучше – 301 или 302 редирект?
В качестве примера оптимального использования 302 редиректа можно привести страничку интернет-магазина с предложениями по акции. В этом случае контент основной страницы остается нетронутым и продвигается в поисковиках, а происходит перенаправление на списки актуальных акций, при желании изменяемые ежедневно.
Перечислим другие варианты использования 302 редиректа:
-
необходимость скрыть от посетителей страницу, находящуюся в процессе оптимизации, изменения дизайна, наполнения новым контентом;
-
непрерывная индексация исходной страницы имеет значение;
-
посетителям должен быть доступен только новый вариант странички;
-
то, что конечная страница не индексируется, не важно для владельца сайта;
-
размещение на старой страничке ссылок, индексация которых не должна прерываться;
-
вероятность частого изменения целевой страницы.
Другими словами, 301 и 302 редирект являются уникальными инструментами, поскольку позволяют веб-мастеру, который сумел разобраться в нюансах их применения, оптимизировать и продвигать сайт, постоянно вносить в него необходимые изменения и при этом сохранять все достигнутые ранее результаты.
Как настроить 302 редирект в .htaccess
Создать 302 редирект в файле .htaccess могут исключительно пользователи веб-сервера Apache.
Наиболее простой вариант настройки 302 редиректа в .htaccess займет всего две строки:
RewriteEngine on
Redirect 302 /old-url https://dh-agency.ru/new-url
Когда речь идет о необходимости настроить более сложную переадресацию, затрагивающую весь сайт, потребуется чуть больше действий:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.dh-agency.ru [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://dh-agency.ru /$1 [R=302,L]
302 редирект проставляется практически так же, как 301, единственное отличие – в замене R=301 на R=302.
Настройка 302 редиректа с помощью PHP и JavaScript
Чаще всего программисты подходят к настройке редиректов просто – прописывают приведенные раньше коды в файле .htaccess. Опасность заключается в том, что такой подход нередко приводит к появлению разного рода проблем, потому что внесенный в файл код либо не срабатывает, либо функционирует неправильно.
Спровоцировать ошибки могут как неполадки внутри самой CMS, так и необходимость расположить код на редирект выше или ниже и многое другое. Чтобы их избежать, применяют альтернативные варианты − PHP или JavaScript.
PHP редирект
PHP − это сервероориентированный язык, то есть переадресация осуществляется не в браузере пользователя, а на сервере. Каждая страница, на которую перенаправляется посетитель, получает уникальный REFERER, в результате чего источник скрыть невозможно.
Обращаем ваше внимание, что код редиректа должен располагаться так, чтобы он прочитывался раньше, чем на экран будет выведен первый символ. Это значит, что пробел перед <? приведет к несрабатыванию редиректа.
PHP-редиректы требуется оформлять в отдельные php-файлы.
Код редиректа на примере файла index.php:
<?php
header («Location: https://stokrat.org/», TRUE, 302);
?>
или
<?php
header («Location: https://stokrat.org/», TRUE, 301);
?>
JavaScript-редирект
Главный недостаток этого варианта заключается в том, что если JavaScript в браузере пользователя выключен, а это встречается довольно часто, переадресации не будет.
Менее заметный минус связан с задержкой, которая объясняется предварительным прогружением html-страницы с белым экраном и последующей переадресацией.
Оформляется редирект в <body> либо в <head>:
<script type=»text/javascript»>
document.location = ‘https://stokrat.org/’;
</script>
Скорость срабатывания этого кода однозначно выше, чем у «Яндекс.Метрики», то есть посетитель не будет засчитан до 302 редиректа «Яндексом».
Как выявить 302 редирект на сайте
Убедиться в правильности настройки 301 и 302 редиректа очень легко. При введении в адресную строку старого адреса наблюдаем за происходящим. Изменение адреса говорит о том, что с редиректом все хорошо. Адрес остался прежним – необходимо искать источник проблемы, но для начала советуем почистить кэш и попробовать еще раз.
Существует еще один вариант – обратиться для проверки кода ответа сервера к онлайн-сервисам, например http://4web.su/s_redirect/. При правильной настройке редиректа вы после введения имени домена увидите код ответа 301 или 302, это зависит от того, какую переадресацию планировалось получить изначально.
Есть сервисы, дополнительно отображающие код, отдаваемый сервером после редиректа, и здесь существует только один верный вариант – 200 ОК.
Приведем пример проверки работы http-версии сайта. В первую очередь обращаем внимание на сведения о настройке 301 редиректа (постоянного), новом адресе (https-версии сайта) и двух кодах ответа − 301 Moved Permanently и 200 ОК.
Код 404 там, где должен быть 200 ОК, говорит о неправильной настройке редиректа. Пример приведен на скриншоте ниже.
Часто задаваемые вопросы про 302 редирект
-
Бытует миф о запрете использования 302 редиректа, который возник после попыток его применения программистами для Google-фильтра Aging Delay.
Сначала сайты стремительно набирали ссылочную массу, но через полгода в списке поисковой выдачи их уже не было. Можно было предположить, что они или попадали в «песочницу», или никакого фильтра возрастной задержки не было вовсе.
-
При поиске ответа на вопрос, в чем отличие 301 от 302 редиректа и какой когда использовать, можно увидеть массу советов избегать 302, поскольку якобы для поисковиков понятен только 301, а Temporary способен вызвать лишь проблемы.
Когда-то такое мнение имело право на существование, но уже давно устарело. Алгоритмы оптимизации совершенствуются с каждым днем, поэтому сегодня применять 302 редирект не просто можно, но и нужно.
-
Наконец, разбираясь, как влияет на оптимизацию 302 редирект, стоит затронуть тему текстовых ссылок и показателей выдачи.
Напомним, что текст, заключенный в теги <a>-</a>, − это анкор. Без тегов, соответственно, безанкорная ссылка. Она начинается с www либо с http://, а также может прятаться за словами «здесь», «тут» и подобными им. Адрес, имеющий вид имя-сайта.ru, − пример анкора. Конечно, более естественной выглядит безанкорная ссылка.
Вид линка влияет на продвижение: анкорная упрощает его, но отличается кратковременным эффектом. Безанкорная может сработать через определенный промежуток времени, и при этом результат будет длиться гораздо дольше.
На первое место здесь выходит текст, который находится до и после линка, поскольку анкора нет.
Перед оптимизаторами по-прежнему остро стоит вопрос, есть ли опасность при использовании редиректа? Если быть недостаточно осмотрительными, да, есть.
В чем она заключается? Допустим, все 100 страниц своего сайта вы переадресуете на главную. В результате может произойти либо его понижение в поисковой выдаче (что не самое страшное), либо полное удаление старого контента из индекса, включая всю ссылочную массу.
Скачайте полезный документ по теме:
Чек-лист: Как добиваться своих целей в переговорах с клиентами
Во избежание этих проблем рекомендуем снизить до минимума 302 редирект на главную страницу, а остальные перелинковать между собой по тематике.
Переадресация является техническим параметром сервера и сайта. Редирект позволяет оптимально распределить исходящие ссылки и тем самым улучшить продвижение.
Не стоит забывать, что при использовании 302 редиректа необходимо соблюдать определенную осторожность, поскольку промахи в настройках способны уничтожить ваши предыдущие достижения. И напротив, умелое применение переадресации может вывести ваш сайт в топ.
Статья опубликована: 16.08.2018
Облако тегов
Понравилась статья? Поделитесь: