Website Redirects – 301, 302, Meta Refresh, and JavaScript

🔄 What is a Redirect? #

A redirect sends users (and Google) from one URL to another.
👉 Used when:

Domain change (example.com → newsite.com)
Multiple URLs for same page (www vs non-www vs subdomain)
Website merger
Page removed or replaced

📌 Key Rule: Always Pick a Canonical URL #

Decide your main URL version
(Example: https://www.example.com)
Redirect all alternate versions to this main one.

🛠 Types of Redirects & When to Use Them #

Redirect Type	Code	Duration	Google Signal	When to Use
Permanent	301 / 308	Long-term	Strong (passes SEO value)	Site move, URL change
Temporary	302 / 307	Short-term	Weak (source might stay in index)	Testing, temporary page move
Meta Refresh (0s)	HTML	Long-term	Weak-medium	If server redirect isn’t possible
Meta Refresh (>0s)	HTML	Short-term	Weak	Avoid unless necessary
JavaScript Redirect	JS	Varies	Weak	Last resort if no server control

✅ Best Practices for Redirects #

Prefer server-side redirects (301/308 or 302/307)
Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C → D slows crawling)
Update internal links to point directly to new URLs
Use 301 for SEO moves (passes link equity)
Test redirects in Search Console & with curl -I command

🚫 Common Mistakes #

❌ Using 302 instead of 301 for permanent moves
❌ Leaving multiple hops (Google may drop link equity)
❌ Forgetting to update sitemaps & internal links
❌ Using only JavaScript redirects (Google might miss them)

💡 FSIDM Pro Tip:
👉 After setting redirects, submit your updated sitemap and request re-indexing in Google Search Console to speed up the transition.

⚡ Server-Side Redirects: The Best Practice #

Server-side redirects tell browsers + Google the correct location of a page directly from the server.

Best for SEO
Fastest (no extra rendering needed)
Works for both permanent & temporary moves

🛠 Types of Server-Side Redirects #

Redirect Type	Status Code	Purpose
Permanent	301 / 308	URL change for good (SEO passes to new page)
Temporary	302 / 307	Short-term move (old URL stays in search results)

💻 How to Implement (Examples) #

🔹 PHP Redirect #

// Permanent (301)

header(‘HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently’);

header(‘Location: https://example.com/newurl’);

exit();

// Temporary (302)

header(‘HTTP/1.1 302 Found’);

header(‘Location: https://example.com/newurl’);

exit();

🔹 Apache (.htaccess) Redirect #

# Permanent Redirect

Redirect permanent “/old” “https://example.com/new”

# Temporary Redirect

Redirect temp “/old-temp” “https://example.com/temp”

Using mod_rewrite for more control:

RewriteEngine on

RewriteRule “^/service$” “/about/service” [R=301] # Permanent

RewriteRule “^/service$” “/about/service” [R=302] # Temporary

🔹 NGINX Redirect #

# Permanent Redirect

location = /service {

return 301 https://example.com/about/service;

}

# Temporary Redirect

location = /service {

return 302 https://example.com/about/service;

}

Complex rewrite example:

location /service {

rewrite ^/service/offline/([a-z]+)/?$ /about/service permanent; # 301

}

✅ FSIDM Best Practices #

Always prefer 301 for SEO moves
Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C — keep it A → C)
Update sitemaps & internal links after redirect
Test in Google Search Console & with curl -I <URL>
Keep redirects live for at least 1 year for permanent moves

⚡ Meta Refresh Redirects #

👉 Used when server-side redirects (301/302) aren’t possible.

🔹 Types of Meta Refresh #

Type	Trigger	Google’s Interpretation
Instant	0 seconds after page load	Permanent redirect
Delayed	X seconds after page load	Temporary redirect

📄 HTML Example (Instant – Permanent) #

<!doctype html>

<html>

<head>

<title>Redirecting…</title>

</head>

</html>

📄 HTML Example (Delayed – Temporary) #

<!doctype html>

<html>

<head>

<title>Redirecting in 5 seconds…</title>

</head>

</html>

💻 HTTP Header Equivalent #

HTTP/1.1 200 OK

Refresh: 0; url=https://example.com/newlocation

⚡ JavaScript Redirects #

👉 Only use if server-side & meta refresh aren’t possible (Google renders JS later — risk of failure).

<!doctype html>

<html>

<head>

window.location.href = “https://example.com/newlocation”;

</script>

<title>Redirecting…</title>

</head>

</html>

⚡ Crypto Redirects (Last Resort) #

👉 Not a real redirect — just a link + notice for users & Google may treat it like a hint.

We moved! Find the content on our new site!

</a>

⚠ Not reliable for SEO → Use only if all other methods fail.

✅ FSIDM Best Practices for Non-Server Redirects #

Always prefer server-side redirects (301/302) if possible
Use meta refresh only as fallback (instant for permanent, delayed for temporary)
JS redirects should be your last coding option
Crypto redirects are just emergency placeholders
Test all redirects in Google Search Console + curl -I