How to use the redirect checker
- Paste the URL you want to trace (an old page, a short link or just the domain) and press Trace redirects.
- Read the hop list: each entry shows the status, the redirect type and what changed on the way to the next URL.
- Check the canonical section to see where http, https, www and non-www each end up; they should all reach the same https:// address.
- Use the findings to collapse chains, switch temporary codes to permanent ones and remove downgrades, then re-run.
Features
- Hop-by-hop chain with status code, permanent/temporary classification, scheme, host and path changes and per-hop timing
- Loop detection, chain-length warnings, HTTPS downgrade detection and method-preservation notes (301/302 vs 307/308)
- Four parallel checks of http://, https://, http://www. and https://www. with a canonical URL verdict
- Plain explanation of 301, 302, 303, 307 and 308 and why long chains hurt speed and search ranking
- Copyable plain-text report of the chain, the variants and every finding
Redirect codes explained
301 Moved Permanently and 308 Permanent Redirect tell browsers and search engines that the old address is gone for good: browsers cache the redirect and search engines transfer ranking to the new URL. 302 Found and 307 Temporary Redirect say the move is temporary, so nothing is cached and the original URL stays indexed. 303 See Other always switches to GET and is used after form submissions. The difference within each pair is method handling: 307 and 308 guarantee that a POST stays a POST with its body intact, while 301 and 302 allow browsers to turn it into a GET, which silently drops form data or API payloads.
Why chains and inconsistent canonicals matter
Each redirect is a full network round trip before the browser can request the real page; on mobile connections that is easily 100 to 300 ms per hop. Search engines follow a limited number of hops and dilute link signals along the way. Intermediate responses rarely carry security headers such as HSTS, and a hop over plain http:// can be intercepted. When http, https, www and non-www end at different pages, the same content exists at several addresses, which splits ranking and lets visitors stay on the unencrypted copy. The ideal is one permanent redirect from every variant straight to the canonical https:// URL.
Limitations and responsible use
Requests are anonymous GETs from a single server with a browser-like user agent; sites that redirect based on cookies, language, device or country may behave differently for your visitors. At most five hops are followed per chain, and only public hosts on ports 80 and 443 are accepted. Only test sites you own or are authorised to test; the observations are the same a browser makes, but publishing findings about a third party's site without permission can cause harm.
- Up to five requests per check (the input URL plus four variants), so the rate limit allows roughly four checks per minute.
- JavaScript and meta-refresh redirects are not executed; only HTTP redirects are traced.