Redirect Checker: Trace 301, 302 Chains and Status Codes

Trace redirects

30 free checks per day (each URL counts as one). The checker asks the server directly, so it shows the real responses, not browser-cached ones.

In short

Enter a URL in the checker above and it follows every redirect, showing each hop with its HTTP status code (such as 301, 302, 307, 308, 404 or 500), the Location it points to and the response time. It flags redirect chains, loops and http to https or www problems, so you can make old URLs go straight to the final page in one step.

A browser hides redirects. You click a link, the address bar changes and the page loads, and you never see that the request went through three servers first. Search engines and ad platforms do see every hop, and so does your page speed. This checker shows the whole path: each URL, the status code it returned, where it sent the request next and how long it took.

Use it after a site migration, after changing product handles, when an ad is rejected for a destination problem or when Search Console reports a redirect error.

How to check a redirect

Paste the starting URL into the box at the top. Use the exact address that links, ads or old bookmarks use, including http:// or www if that is what they have.
Run the check. The tool requests the URL, reads the status code and the Location header, and repeats for each hop until it reaches a page that does not redirect.
Read the hop list from top to bottom. The last line is where visitors and crawlers end up, and its status should be 200.
Look at the flags. A chain (more than one redirect), a loop, or a hop that goes back from https to http needs fixing.
After you change your redirect rules, check the old URL again to confirm it now reaches the final page in one hop.

HTTP status codes and what they mean

Code	Meaning	How Google treats it
200 OK	The page loaded normally	Content can be indexed
301 Moved Permanently	The URL has moved for good	Strong signal that the target should be indexed
302 Found	Temporary move	Weak signal; the original URL may stay indexed
303 See Other	Go to another URL with GET, often after a form	Same as 302
307 Temporary Redirect	Temporary move, request method kept	Same as 302
308 Permanent Redirect	Permanent move, request method kept	Same as 301
404 Not Found	No page at this URL	Treated as content that does not exist
410 Gone	Removed on purpose	Handled the same as 404
429 Too Many Requests	The server is rate limiting	Treated like a server error; crawling slows
5xx	Server error (500, 502, 503, 504)	Crawling slows; persistent errors can drop pages

The Google column comes from Google's documentation on HTTP status codes. One detail surprises people: Google handles 404 and 410 the same way, so there is no SEO reason to pick one over the other for a deleted page.

Which redirect to use when

Permanent moves: 301 or 308

Use a permanent redirect when a URL has changed for good: a new domain, a switch to https, a renamed product handle, merged blog posts, a deleted product that has a close replacement. The difference between the two is technical. According to MDN, a 308 guarantees the browser repeats the request with the same method and body, while a 301 lets browsers change a POST into a GET. For ordinary page links that difference does not matter, and Google treats them the same. Most platforms, Shopify included, use 301.

Temporary moves: 302 or 307

Use a temporary redirect when the original URL will come back: a product that is out of stock for a week, a page under maintenance, a seasonal landing page. A 307 keeps the request method, like a 308. If you leave a temporary redirect in place for months, Google may eventually treat it as permanent anyway, but do not rely on that. Use a 301 when you mean it.

Deleted with no replacement: 404 or 410

Do not redirect every deleted product to the home page. Google may treat that as a soft 404 anyway, and visitors land somewhere they did not expect. Redirect to a close match or a relevant collection, and let pages with no sensible replacement return 404.

Chains, loops and http or www problems

Google's crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops, but every extra hop adds a round trip for visitors and a chance for something to break. The goal is one hop from any old URL to the final page.

Chains build up over time: http to https, then non-www to www, then an old handle to a new handle. Update each rule so it points directly at the final URL, and update internal links so they skip redirects entirely.
Loops happen when A redirects to B and B redirects back to A, often because a platform rule and a plugin or CDN rule disagree. Browsers stop with a "too many redirects" error and the page is unreachable.
http and www. Pick one version of the domain, such as https://www.example.com, and make every other version redirect to it in one hop. Check all four combinations of http, https, www and non-www.
Downgrades to http. A hop from https back to http exposes the request and triggers browser warnings. Fix it at the source.

Note: Chrome can show a "307 Internal Redirect" in developer tools for sites that use HSTS. That redirect happens inside the browser. This checker requests the server directly, so it shows the real response your server sends.

Redirects on Shopify and WordPress

In Shopify, go to Content > Menus, click View URL redirects and create the redirect. Shopify only applies a redirect when the old URL no longer loads a page. When you edit a product handle in the search engine listing section, keep the option to create a URL redirect checked. WooCommerce and WordPress need a redirect plugin or server rules.

After a migration, test a sample of old URLs from your previous sitemap. The Shopify SEO audit guide covers the wider checks, and the website SEO checker tests the final page once the redirect lands. If you are replacing old products in bulk, the bulk edit guide helps you plan which URLs change. To see who owns and hosts a domain in a redirect chain, use the WHOIS lookup.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?

A 301 says the page has moved permanently, and Google treats it as a strong signal to index the new URL. A 302 says the move is temporary, so Google may keep the original URL indexed. Use 301 when the old address will not come back and 302 when it will.

Is a 308 redirect better than a 301?

For SEO they are equivalent, and Google treats a 308 like a 301. The difference is that a 308 requires the browser to repeat the request with the same method and body, which matters for form submissions and APIs. For ordinary page moves either one works.

How many redirects are too many?

Google says its crawlers follow up to 10 hops, but aim for one. Each hop adds delay for visitors, and long chains are fragile because any broken rule in the middle breaks the whole path. Point old URLs straight at the final page and update internal links to skip redirects.

Should I use a 404 or a 410 for deleted pages?

Google treats all 4xx codes except 429 the same way, so 404 and 410 have the same effect on indexing. Use whichever your platform makes easy. If a close replacement exists, such as a newer version of a product, a 301 to that page is usually more useful than either.

What causes a too many redirects error?

A redirect loop, where URLs keep sending the browser back and forth. It is usually caused by two systems disagreeing, for example a CDN forcing https while the server forces http, or a plugin and a platform rule redirecting the same URL. The checker shows the repeating hops so you can see which rule is involved.