While reading online product reviews, have you ever noticed that you are instantly rerouted to the product page upon clicking the product name?
Or, have you noticed how easily you could go to a new online article on the latest book releases while reading a book review? This is all because of website redirects. These redirects work as online reroutes that can take you from one website to another with one simple click.
So, one minute you might be reading an article about a new author, and the next, you can go through their upcoming book releases — all thanks to redirects. However, setting up a working website redirect can be a bit tricky. And that’s why we’re here to help you.
A redirect is a tool you can use to send visitors to another page or website on your website. There are a few different redirects, and each has a unique purpose. This blog post will explain what a redirect is and how you should use it. We’ll also discuss the different types of redirects and their purposes.
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What Is A Redirect?
A redirect is a method to guide users to a different redirect target URL other than the one initially attempted to access. The redirected website URL often contains similar or related information to the original URL, so it fulfils the purpose of the visit. They are using various HTTP headers or an HTTP protocol to create temporary or permanent redirects to a new domain or page. Redirects use status codes defined within the HTTP protocol.
For instance, if you are writing a product review on the best bathroom faucets, you can set up a redirect code to reroute the visitors to the original product page. You can use the words “bathroom faucets” as the code line to redirect the visitors to the actual online shopping site from where they can purchase the products.
If your original website is down, you can add the link to a backup website. So, every time the users try to access your website, it will reroute them to the temporary backup website via the provided redirect link. Hence, they can easily access the information they’re looking for without much hassle.
When To Use Redirects?
URL forwarding, otherwise known as a URL redirect, can be very useful in different situations, from enhancing online traffic to comfortably switching to a new website page. This section will discuss some cases where you would need to use redirects.
1. Temporary Maintenance Of A Page
You often must remove your original website page to improve and update it. Under such circumstances, it is always best to set up a backup page to avoid losing any of your followers.
You can use redirects to let your visitors access the temporary backup page until the previous page is up and running again. In other words, it provides a great way to continue engaging with your followers when the initial web page is temporarily down.
2. Permanent Deletion Of A Page
Sometimes, you might want to redesign your entire website and permanently delete some old pages. But you might want to keep the content of these pages for your users.
In such cases, you can use redirects to reroute to a different page where they can check out the content of your old URLs. So, redirects can be a good idea if you plan to revamp your website but still want to keep the content of the old pages.
3. Page Merger
You can also use a redirect to merge two separate pages as a single page. By setting up a redirect on one page using a line of code, you can quickly reroute the users to the second page.
For any reason, if one of the URLs cannot function properly after the merger, you can always use the redirect to help the users gain access to the other page. Thus, users can efficiently go from one URL to another without external URLs.
4. Changing Domains
If you want to create an entirely new website on a different domain, it might be a good idea to preserve the internal links of the original website so that none of the content is lost. You can add redirects on the new website to reroute users to the original content.
A redirect link on the old website can help users access your new website. At the same time, the process helps enhance the visibility of your new website on the new domain among your existing followers.
How Can Redirects Impact SEO?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) rankings essentially signify the internet traffic of any website, which directly impacts its visibility in search results. SEO rankings are essential in getting users to visit your website. With that in mind, establishing a URL redirect on your site should not impair the SEO ranking of the correct page.
A redirect can indeed enhance the page’s visibility to which you’re trying to reroute the users. However, the circumstances under which you’re setting up a redirect can sometimes negatively impact the SEO ranking of the original website.
For instance, if you’re trying to reroute the users to your new website because the old website has stopped working, setting up a redirect can help enhance the SEO ranking of the new website. But, if you’re merging with a brand page, it might affect the SEO ranking of your original page.
It is best to carefully consider the situation before setting up a redirect on your website so your SEO rankings do not suffer. At the same time, it is essential to set it up in a proper way so that the visibility of the original page isn’t compromised.
Types Of Redirects
Not all redirects are the same; different types function in their ways and have various purposes. So, it is best to choose the type of redirect to set up on your website based on your needs and preferences.
To help you choose the correct redirect, we’ve compiled a list of various redirects in this section. Let’s take a look.
1. Permanent And Temporary Redirects
You can either go for a permanent or a temporary redirect based on your needs. For instance, if your redirected page needs some maintenance or an update, you can add a temporary redirect that’ll forward the users to the backup page.
In this case, the search engine bots won’t memorise the URL of the new backup page. So, the crawler will direct users to the original page the next time they try to open the website. In other words, they won’t be redirected to the backup page whenever they open your website.
However, a domain change requires a much more permanent solution. Indeed, your old page is gone when you’re using a permanent redirect. The redirect URL forwarding will inform the search engine crawlers to memorise the new URL. As a result, each time users visit your site, it automatically redirects them to the new page, eliminating the need to access the old page to view the new one.
2. Server-Side Redirects
Typically, the web server autonomously manages the redirect. The server will take you to a new page whenever you use the internet browser to access a URL. For instance, the server may automatically take you from the original URL to the new URL.
In server-side redirects, no alterations or instructions are needed to utilise the redirected URL. Here, the server itself handles everything. It is extremely fast, and the most common redirect web page developers use. Plus, there are different server-side redirects that you can use as per your requirements.
A. 301 Redirects
The 301 redirects (or 301 Moved Permanently) must always be used as a permanent redirect when you’re trying to permanently reroute the users to your new page while relaunching a website on a new domain. The best thing about this redirect type is its ability to indicate search engines where users can find the required content in another window’s URL.
In most instances, the 301 redirect is the best method for implementing redirects on a website. So, the users can easily access the new site without going through the old page every time they visit your website. Also, you can increase the SEO ranking of your new page quickly and conveniently by rerouting using 301 redirects. You can set up a 301 redirect by using PHP or modifying the access file to accept the HTTP status code 301.
B. 302 Redirects
The 302 redirects are temporary solutions applied when a page or website is temporarily down for website maintenance; applying an HTTP status code of 302 will reroute traffic on a temporary basis. Pages are automatically redirected to HTTP 1.0 while using 302 redirects. So, the users will always end up on the original page whenever they try to access the website via any search engine.
Additionally, as the 302 redirect doesn’t automatically redirect to the new URL HTTP 1.1, it can affect the SEO rankings of the new page. Setting up a 302 redirect can be a time-consuming ordeal. Hence, you must be very careful and consider all alternatives before you finally decide to set up a 302 redirect on the website.
C. 307 Redirects
Like the 302 redirects, the 307 redirect is also a temporary measure, but it is easier to set up. Web developers frequently implement 307 redirections when the websites are temporarily down for some reason or the other.
Although it is a temporary redirect, setting up a 307 redirect is similar to a permanent 301 redirect. Creating a PHP file and then a new htaccess file named htaccess. 307 is necessary to direct visitors to a new page, which involves adjusting server configuration files. Again, remember that this htaccess file temporarily redirects visitors to the backup page.
1. Client-Side Redirects
Client-side are much more complicated than server-side redirects as you, the client, have to set it up by making changes in the website’s source code. Here, no changes are made on the server. Furthermore, the browser is rerouted to the new page in client-side redirects without updating the web servers.
It can also take time to load the new page if you use client-side redirects. Hence, they are not usually recommended for enhancing the SEO rankings of the website. However, you should know about the two major types of client-side redirects that are typically used.
A. Meta Refresh
If you’ve waited a few moments on a webpage before being rerouted to another URL, you’ve encountered meta-refresh redirects.
The original page refreshes while rerouting you to the new URL in a meta-refresh redirect.
In this type of client-side redirect, the meta refresh redirect reroutes the browser to the redirected page without changing the server.
It usually takes a few seconds to refresh the old page and redirect the users to the new page. While setting up the meta refresh redirect, you can also mention when the old page will reroute the users to the new URL.
As you may have guessed, this method leads to poor SEO rankings of the web page as the visitors often have to wait to be rerouted from one page to the other.
B. JavaScript Redirects
Redirects via JavaScript are usually not recommended for any website, as the users need to have a JavaScript-enabled browser for this function to work. However, in the case of any sudden emergency, you can add JavaScript redirects as a temporary measure.
As it is client-based, you must manually add the JavaScript code to set up the redirect URL properly. Additionally, it can take a lot of time to load the new page using this redirect, even if the browser is JavaScript-enabled. Thus, there’s a high chance that a JavaScript redirect will adversely impact the SEO rankings of your website.
Using JavaScript, you are redirection that’ll automatically redirect you to a different URL.
How To Set Up A Redirect?
As we said earlier, you can use different techniques to set up a permanent or a temporary redirect based on your needs and preferences. Most web designers and developers use multiple methods to set up a redirect.
So, if you are still confused about the methods of setting up a proper redirect on the website, we’re here to help you. This section will provide the instructions for setting up a redirect for three of the most-used options.
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1. Setting Up A Website Redirect In cPanel
After signing into your cPanel account, go to the “Domains” section and click on the icon for “Redirects”. A dropdown menu will appear after clicking on the “Redirect” option, showing you the different redirect types. Here, you choose between a permanent or a temporary redirect under the Type option.
You can choose the domain you’re trying to set up the redirect in the following menu. Next, select the appropriate domain from the dropdown menu. Then, fill in both the pages that you want to merge using the redirect.
Finally, input the destination URL of the new page to which you intend to redirect users upon their website visit. And that’s it; your permanent redirect will be added to your cPanel website.
2. Setting Up A Website Redirect In Gator
You can also use the Gator Website Builder for setting up a redirect on your website. First off, select the Edit Site option for the website you want to set up the redirect. Then, click the “Redirects” option from the “Manage” menu. After that, click on the “Add Rule” option to enter the web page address to which you want to redirect the users.
Then, choose the type of redirect that you want to add to your website. You can either add the URL of the new page or select the page to which you wish to redirect the old URL. As a final step, click on the “OK” button to set up your chosen redirect option.
3. Setting Up A Website Redirect In WordPress
If you’re a full-time blogger, you probably use WordPress as your preferred platform. It is best to know how to set up redirects on WordPress. The most convenient option to set up a redirect on WordPress is adding plugins. First, select the “Add New” option from the “Plugins” menu and install and activate new plugins.
Once you have installed and set up the new plugins, you’ll be able to use the “Domain Redirection” option listed under “Tools”. Click “Redirects” under the “Redirection” option and fill in all the information for the new URL you want to reroute your visitors. Then finally, click on the “Add Redirect” option to create redirects on your WordPress website or blog.
How To Check Your Redirects?
It is essential to set it up correctly, as a broken redirect URL can bring down the website’s SEO rankings of your website. You must check whether it is working correctly or not. Fortunately, there are several tools that you can use to check whether the redirect is functioning correctly.
For instance, Link Redirect Trace, a Google Chrome browser extension, can help you look for incorrect or broken redirects. Once you find the flaws, you can make immediate changes and maintain the website’s SEO rankings of your website.
Alternatively, Google Search Console is also an effective tool for checking redirects. It helps detect 404 errors so that you can fix them immediately without going through each page.
So where do these come from? Google Search Console populates its “Coverage” section from all kinds of sources. Google Search Console marks soft 404s as errors. It will give you a list of URLs that appear as soft 404s in the “Errors” section underneath the graph. Once you find the soft 404 errors, it’s time to fix them.
What Are Redirect Loops?
The browser often fails to open a new page when it has to go through multiple redirects. It can happen if an old URL redirects the users to a new URL, but the new URL redirects them back to the old URL forwarding. And thus, an endless redirect loop is created.
In addition, redirect chains can cause significant problems for the browser while trying to access a new page. It happens when the browser has to move through multiple redirects. Thus, it shows an error message to the users, and they cannot visit the new page.
Redirect loops can inadvertently affect search engine rankings of the website by reducing the number of visits. So, it is better to be careful while setting up multiple redirects on your website to avoid creating a redirect loop.
Risks Of Setting Up A Redirect
The significant risk of setting up a redirect is the slow performance of the website. Whenever you set up a URL redirect on the website, you add an extra step for the server.
So, with more redirects, the performance of your website gradually slows down and becomes limited. This can negatively impact the SEO rankings of the website. Hence, we recommend adding unnecessary redirects to the website.
Furthermore, you risk creating redirect loops or redirect chains that prevent visitors from going to the original or new web page by adding more redirects. Instead, they’ll be stuck in an endless redirect loop going back and forth. So, your website’s online traffic can drop significantly, reducing your SEO rankings.
Understanding Redirects
Building a visually appealing website by adding proper redirects can be tricky. After going through our article, we hope you better understand different types of redirects and how they work.
We suggest you always go for redirects that can enhance the SEO rankings of the website, such as the 301 redirect. Also, avoid adding too many redirects on the website, creating endless redirect chains and reducing online traffic. In other words, only add redirects when it is necessary.
Hopefully, this blog post has made you aware of the different types of redirects and how they work. We encourage you to try out a few on your website or contact us for more information about our services!
We hope that answers all your questions. Until next time!
Stephanie Salud
Stephanie comes from a background specialising in off-page SEO, from link building, citations and strategic brand placements to increase search rankings. Stephanie brings to the team a unique approach to off-page and on-page optimisations for our clients.
Find them on their website: sitecentre®.
