Redirect Checker

What Is This Redirect Checker Tool?

This free tool traces the full redirect path of any URL, showing every hop from the original address to its final destination, along with the HTTP status code at each step. Paste in a URL and the tool follows every redirect in sequence, flagging the type of redirect used 301 permanent, 302 temporary, 307, meta refresh, or JavaScript redirect at each hop, so you can see exactly what a browser or search engine crawler would experience visiting that link.

It’s built for anyone managing a website’s URL structure: developers debugging broken links, SEO professionals auditing site migrations, and marketers verifying that tracking or affiliate links land where they’re supposed to.

How to Use the Redirect Checker

1. Enter the URL you want to check into the input box this can be a page you suspect is redirecting, a shortened link, or a URL from an old site structure.
2. Run the check. The tool sends a request to that URL and follows every redirect step in order, the same way a browser would.
3. Review the full chain. Each hop is listed with its status code (e.g., 301, 302, 200) and destination URL, so you can see the complete path from start to finish, including how many redirects occurred.

If the URL doesn’t redirect at all, the tool simply confirms the final status code like 200 OK or 404 Not Found with no chain involved. For a broader look at status codes across several URLs at once, the HTTP Status Checker supports checking a batch in one pass.

Why Checking Redirects Matters

• SEO value passing. A 301 (permanent) redirect passes most ranking signals to the destination page, while a 302 (temporary) redirect is treated as, well, temporary search engines may not consolidate signals the same way. Using the wrong type on a permanent change can quietly cost you rankings.
• Redirect chains slow things down. Every extra hop in a redirect chain adds latency, since the browser has to make a new request each time. Long chains (three or more hops) can noticeably slow page load and hurt Core Web Vitals scores.
• Redirect loops break pages entirely. A misconfigured redirect can point back to itself or create a circular chain, resulting in a browser error page instead of your content loading at all.
• Site migrations and URL changes. When restructuring a site, changing a domain, or fixing broken slugs, verifying that old URLs correctly redirect to their new equivalents rather than a generic homepage redirect protects both user experience and existing SEO equity. It’s also worth confirming the canonical tag on the new destination is set up correctly; the Canonical Checker covers that side of a migration.

Common Redirect Problems This Tool Helps Catch

• Redirect chains. A URL that redirects to another URL, which redirects again sometimes several times before reaching the final page. Each extra hop should ideally be collapsed into a single direct redirect.
• Redirect loops. A chain that never resolves, cycling back to a URL already visited, which causes browsers to show a “too many redirects” error.
• Mixed redirect types in a chain. A permanent 301 followed by a temporary 302 sends a mixed signal about the page’s actual intended destination.
• HTTP to HTTPS redirect issues. Sites that don’t properly redirect the non-secure version of a URL to its HTTPS equivalent can end up with duplicate content indexed under both versions.
• www vs. non-www inconsistency. Similar to HTTPS issues, failing to redirect one version of a domain to the other can split ranking signals between two URLs that should be treated as one.

Who Uses This Tool

• SEO professionals auditing redirect chains during a site migration or domain change to confirm nothing is broken or unnecessarily long.
• Developers debugging why a link isn’t landing where expected, or verifying redirect rules after a server configuration change.
• Marketers checking that shortened links, affiliate URLs, or ad campaign links redirect correctly before a campaign goes live.
• Website owners troubleshooting broken internal links or confirming old URLs properly redirect after a redesign.

FAQ

What’s the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect? A 301 redirect indicates a permanent move and generally passes ranking signals to the new URL, while a 302 indicates a temporary move and is typically treated as not passing the same long-term signal to the destination.

How many redirects is too many in a chain? There’s no strict cutoff, but most SEO guidance recommends keeping chains as short as possible ideally a single direct redirect. Two or more hops can start to noticeably affect load speed and crawl efficiency.

What causes a “too many redirects” error? This usually means the URL is caught in a redirect loop, where it eventually points back to a URL already visited in the same chain, so the browser gives up rather than loop indefinitely.

Is this tool free to use? Yes, completely free, with no sign-up and no usage limit.

Can I check a URL that requires a login to access? No, this tool checks publicly accessible URLs. Pages behind a login wall can’t be checked, since the tool can’t authenticate on your behalf.

Does this tool detect meta refresh or JavaScript redirects, not just server-side ones? Yes, alongside standard HTTP redirects (301, 302, 307), the tool also flags meta refresh tags and detects when a page redirects via JavaScript, both of which behave differently from server-level redirects and are treated less reliably by search engines. If you want to inspect the raw response headers behind any of these hops, the HTTP Header Checker shows that detail directly.

Looking for something else? Check the HTTP Status Checker, Canonical Checker, HTTP Header Checker, or browse the full Free SEO Tools collection.