Updated 13 Oct 2026

Redirect Checker

See every step a web address takes before it loads, whether it lands where it should, and whether anything needs fixing.

The report

See where a web address really goes

This free redirect checker follows a web address from the first request to the final page. It shows every redirect on the way, the status code of each one (301, 302, 307, 308), what changed at each step and how long it took. No signup.

It also opens every version of your home page, with and without https and www, and tells you whether they all end at one address.

Every report opens with one plain answer: No issues found, things to improve, or problems to fix. Up to nine checks sit under it, each marked green, amber or red, so you can see what is fine without reading the detail. Anything that needs attention is explained in one line right there.

Use it after you move a page, change a domain, switch to HTTPS, or when a link does not land where you expect.

A live check of seoshut.com/tools, typed without https or the closing slash: 2 redirects, then a page that loads.

Redirect path detail: 2 redirects, the final address, final status 200 OK, HTTPS, HSTS and canonical tag, expected address matches, mobile and Googlebot get the same result

Redirect report result: It works, with 1 thing to improve, 8 of 9 checks passed, each check marked with a coloured dot, the one improvement explained in a line, and the four summary numbers

How to use it

How to check a redirect

Two boxes, four small steps.

1
Paste the address
Type or paste any page, for example yoursite.com/old-page. A short link works too.
2
Leave out https to test the full path
An address typed without https:// starts at http://, so you also see whether your site sends visitors to the secure version.
3
Add where it should end, if you know
Moved a page? Put the new address in Should end at, for example yoursite.com/new-page. The report tells you whether visitors really land there. Leave it empty to simply see where the address goes.
4
Press Check redirects
The report appears below the form: the path first, then every version of your home page. Copy the link to share it.

Just fixed a redirect? The same address is checked fresh again after 2 minutes, so wait a moment before you re-test.

Your report, explained

What each part of the report means

Part 1 is the path of the address you typed. Here is a real one, with each part numbered.

Redirect path report: a chain of 2 redirects with every step, its status code, what changed and the time taken

1
The answer in one line
A plain sentence that says what happened: no redirect, one redirect, a chain, an error page or a loop.
2
Redirects and final address
How many hops it took and the exact address a visitor ends on.
3
The facts behind the result
The final status code, redirect types, HTTPS, HSTS and the canonical tag, then whether the address matches the one you expected and whether a mobile browser and Googlebot get the same result.
4
Every step, in order
Each address, the answer it gave, what changed (HTTPS, www, a slash, a new path or domain) and the time it took from our server.
5
What these answers mean
A short key for the status codes that appear in your path, so you do not need to look them up.

Result labels:

No redirectThe address loads directly

1 redirectOne hop to a page that loads

Redirect chainTwo or more hops in a row

Error pageThe path ends on a 4xx or 5xx

Redirect loopThe path returns to an address it already visited

Under every report: copy a link to the result, or save it as a one-page PDF. Both show when it was checked.

Part 2 of the report

Why every version should end in one place

Your home page can be reached four ways: with http or https, and with or without www. To a search engine those are four addresses until redirects say otherwise.

Google’s advice is to “pick one of those URLs as your canonical URL, and use redirects to send traffic from the other URLs to your preferred URL” (Google Search Central). It lists redirects first among its signals: “a strong signal that the target of the redirect should become canonical.”

Part 2 opens all four and marks each one: Main address, Ends here, Ends elsewhere or Check failed. A subdomain such as blog.yoursite.com is checked on http and https only.

It also reads the HSTS header, which “informs browsers that the host should only be accessed using HTTPS” (MDN). More on that in our guide to HTTPS and SEO.

Site versions report: all four versions of the home page, their redirects and where each one ends

All four versions of seoshut.com end at one address, so the result is 4/4.

Redirect types

301, 302, 307 or 308: which one to use

Use a permanent redirect when the old address is not coming back, and a temporary one when it is.

Code	Name	Type	What Google does	Form data
301	Moved permanently	Permanent	Shows the new address in results. A strong signal that the new address is the main one.	May switch a POST to a GET
308	Permanent redirect	Permanent	Treated the same as a 301.	Keeps the method
302	Found	Temporary	Keeps showing the old address in results. A weak signal.	May switch a POST to a GET
307	Temporary redirect	Temporary	Treated the same as a 302.	Keeps the method
303	See other	Temporary	Treated as a temporary redirect.	Always follows with a GET
Meta refresh	In the page’s HTML	Depends on the delay	Instant counts as permanent, delayed as temporary.	Runs in the browser

Sources: Google, Redirects and Google Search; Google, HTTP status codes; RFC 9110; MDN.

Example: one old link, three stops

301

http://yoursite.com/old-pageSends visitors to the secure address

301

https://yoursite.com/old-pageAdds www

302

https://www.yoursite.com/old-pageTemporary redirect to the new page

200

https://www.yoursite.com/new-pageThe page loads

An illustration, not a real site. One rule from the first address to the last would replace all three hops.

Do redirects lose ranking power?

Google’s site move guide says “301 and other permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank” (Google Search Central).

Server redirect or JavaScript?

Google says a server-side redirect “has the highest chance of being interpreted correctly” and to use JavaScript redirects only if you cannot do server-side or meta refresh redirects (Google).

Redirect chains

How many redirects is too many?

One is fine. Past that, each extra hop costs time, and long chains can stop being followed at all.

Google’s limit10redirect hops its crawlers follow by default

Google’s advice3ideally no more than 3 in a chain, and fewer than 5

Lighthouse2or more redirects fail its redirect audit

Keep them1 yearat least, after you move a page or site

This tool10redirects followed before it stops

Free checks40per visitor, per day

What Google says

“By default, Google’s crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops” (Google). For site moves it advises to “keep the number of redirects in the chain low, ideally no more than 3 and fewer than 5,” because chaining “adds latency for users” (Google).

What it costs visitors

Chrome’s Lighthouse documentation says a page fails its redirect audit “when it has two or more redirects,” and that each extra trip “can delay the loading of the resource by hundreds of milliseconds” (Chrome for Developers).

How long to keep a redirect: Google says to keep redirects “for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year” (Google). Our step-by-step guide covers how to fix redirect chains.

Limits

What this tool can’t see

If your browser shows something different, one of these is usually why.

Use it to

Follow any address to its final page, hop by hop
See whether a redirect is permanent (301, 308) or temporary (302, 303, 307)
Catch chains, loops and redirects that end on an error page
Confirm that http, https, www and non-www all end at one address
Confirm an old address lands on the new page you meant
Share a dated report with a developer or a client

It won’t show

JavaScript redirects. We read HTTP redirects and meta refresh. A redirect that only runs in a browser’s JavaScript will not show.
Redirects that depend on the visitor. Rules based on country, cookies or login can send your visitors somewhere different from our server.
Sites that block tools. Some firewalls answer automated requests with 403 or a challenge page. When that happens the report says so.
Real Googlebot. The Googlebot comparison sends Google’s crawler name from our server. It is not a visit from Google, and some firewalls block it. When that happens the report says “Blocked by the site” and does not count it.
Every page on your site. Part 2 tests the home page versions. Other pages are checked one address at a time.
Bulk lists. One address per check. There is no upload for hundreds of URLs.

Next steps

What to do with your result

Your next step, by result

No redirect

Nothing to change. If you expected a redirect here, the rule is not live yet or does not match this exact address.

1 redirect

This is the clean result. Check that it is a 301 or 308 if the move is permanent, then update your own links to point at the final address.

Broken Link Checker

Redirect chain

Point the first address straight at the last one. The usual cause is one rule for HTTPS, another for www and a third for the new page.

Fix redirect chains

Error page

The redirect works but the destination does not. Send it to a page that loads, then confirm Google can index that page.

Google Index Checker

Redirect loop

Two rules are sending visitors back and forth. Look for a plugin, a server rule and a CDN setting that each try to fix the same thing.

SEO Audit

Versions end elsewhere

Choose one main address and redirect the other versions to it. Then make sure the canonical tag on the page names that same address.

Canonical tag guide

Slow redirects

Time spent on redirects is added before the page starts to load. Remove hops first, then measure the page itself.

Core Web Vitals Checker

Moving a site or cleaning up old redirects?

Our team plans and checks redirects for businesses in the US and UK, so rankings survive the move.

Book a free strategy call See SEO services

FAQs

What is a redirect checker?

A redirect checker follows a web address and shows every redirect on the way to the final page. For each step you see the status code, such as 301 or 302, and where it points next. It answers one question quickly: when someone opens this address, where do they really end up, and how many hops does it take?

How do I check if a URL redirects?

Paste the address into the box above and press Check redirects. The report lists every step in order with its status code, the final address and the final status. Type the address without https to start from http, which also shows whether your site sends visitors to the secure version.

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

A 301 is permanent and a 302 is temporary. Google says permanent redirects show the new address in search results, while temporary redirects keep showing the old one. It calls a 301 a strong signal and a 302 a weak signal that the new address should be used. Use a 301 when the old address is not coming back.

What are 307 and 308 redirects?

They are the stricter versions of 302 and 301. A 307 is temporary and a 308 is permanent, and both keep the request method, so a submitted form is not turned into a plain page request. Google’s documentation treats a 307 as equivalent to a 302 and a 308 as equivalent to a 301.

How many redirects is too many?

Keep it to one where you can. Google’s crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops by default, but its site move guide advises keeping chains low, ideally no more than 3 and fewer than 5. Chrome’s Lighthouse documentation says a page fails its redirect audit when it has two or more redirects.

What is a redirect chain?

A redirect chain is two or more redirects in a row: address A sends you to B, and B sends you to C. Chains often build up over time, for example one rule for HTTPS, one for www and one for a new page. Google notes that chaining redirects adds latency for users.

What is a redirect loop?

A loop is a path that returns to an address it already visited, so it never reaches a page. Browsers stop and show an error instead. It usually means two rules disagree, such as one that adds a closing slash and another that removes it. This tool marks the step where the path repeats.

Do 301 redirects hurt SEO?

A single permanent redirect to the right page does not. Google’s site move documentation states that 301 and other permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank. Problems come from long chains, loops, temporary redirects used for permanent moves, and redirects that end on an error page.

How long should I keep a redirect in place?

Google advises keeping redirects for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year, and suggests keeping them indefinitely for the sake of users. People keep following old links and bookmarks long after a move, so removing a redirect early sends them to an error page.

Why does my browser show something different from this tool?

The check runs from our server, not your device. Redirects that depend on country, cookies or login can differ, and redirects made by JavaScript are not run. Some sites also block automated requests. Results are reused for 2 minutes, so a change you just made may take a moment to appear.

Sources

More free tools

More free SEO tools

Once the redirects are clean, these check what sits behind them.

Broken Link CheckerFind links on a page that are broken, redirected or blocked.Google Index CheckerSee whether Google can index each URL, and the likely reason if not.SEO AuditCheck a page for the technical issues that hold rankings back.Core Web Vitals CheckerMeasure how fast a page loads for real visitors and in the lab.Meta Tag AnalyzerCheck a page’s title, description and canonical tag.Domain Age CheckerSee when a domain was registered and when it expires.Keyword Rank CheckerSee where a site ranks on Google for a keyword, by city and device.All free SEO tools30 free tools for local SEO, AI search and technical checks.

Read the guides: How to check redirects and fix redirect chains and Canonical tags, explained.