What's the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?

301 redirects indicate a permanent move and pass most SEO value to the new URL. Use these for permanent content moves or domain changes. 302 redirects indicate a temporary move and maintain the original URL's SEO value. Use these for temporary redirects or A/B testing.

Redirect Generator

Create SEO-friendly redirects for your website with proper server configuration

Redirect Type

301 (Permanent) 302 (Temporary)

Choose 301 for permanent redirects (better for SEO) or 302 for temporary redirects

Server Type

Old URL

New URL

Include wildcards and query parameters

About URL Redirects

URL redirects automatically forward visitors and search engines from one URL to another. They're essential for maintaining SEO value when moving content, managing multiple domains, or handling outdated URLs.

Practical guide: rules you can ship to the server

What this is

This tool produces redirect rules (for example Apache or Nginx snippets) from the URL pairs you enter. Redirects tell clients and bots that a resource has moved temporarily or permanently. They consolidate users onto the canonical experience and pass most ranking signals when the move is truly permanent and the destination is equivalent or better.

How to use it

List old URLs on the left and final targets on the right, one relationship per row. Prefer direct 301 hops to the final URL—avoid A→B→C chains. After deployment, hit old URLs with a browser or curl and confirm status codes, Location headers, and that HTML still loads on the destination. Update internal links and XML sitemaps to point to the new URLs so crawlers stop depending on redirects for routine navigation.

How to read the results

Match server context: Apache .htaccess differs from Nginx location blocks, and CDN edge rules differ again. Wildcards are powerful but easy to over-broaden—test edge cases like pagination and API paths. If you generate 302s for “temporary” campaigns, remember they do not consolidate the same way as 301s; switch to 301 when the move is permanent.

Common mistakes

Redirecting everything to the homepage destroys relevance. Loops and self-redirects break crawls. Regex that catches admin or asset paths causes surprise outages. Mixing HTTP and HTTPS without HSTS clarity yields extra hops. Keeping redirects for years without cleaning internal links wastes crawl budget. Treat generated rules as code: review, stage, and monitor logs after release.

Types of Redirects

Type	Use Case	SEO Impact
301 (Permanent)	Content permanently moved, domain changes	Passes most SEO value
302 (Temporary)	Temporary moves, A/B testing	Maintains original URL's SEO value

Best Practices

Use 301 redirects for permanent changes
Redirect to relevant content to maintain user experience
Avoid redirect chains to prevent performance issues
Update internal links to point to new URLs
Monitor redirects in Google Search Console

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should I keep redirects in place?

For 301 redirects, keep them in place for at least 1 year, preferably longer. This ensures search engines and users who have bookmarked old URLs can find the new content. Monitor your logs to see when traffic to old URLs diminishes significantly.

Do redirects affect page speed?

Yes, redirects can add a small delay to page load times. This is why it's important to avoid redirect chains and update internal links to point directly to new URLs. However, the SEO benefits of proper redirects usually outweigh the minimal performance impact.

When should I use wildcards in redirects?

Use wildcards when you need to redirect multiple similar URLs or preserve query parameters. For example, when moving an entire section of your website or handling dynamic URLs. Be careful with wildcards as they can sometimes cause unexpected redirects.