eCommerce Glossary: When to Use 301 Redirects

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Improved SEO, CRO, and User Satisfaction

301 Redirects & When You Need Them

Information is the key to your business success. Your customers should find it when needed. If you can't find something you need, it’s frustrating. Isn't it? That's what happens to customers when they come across a web page and discover - it's not available.

Unfortunately, in this situation, your customers go to competitor websites impacting your revenues. But, you can fix this with a 301 Redirect.

Are there any limits to using 301 Redirect?

What is a 301 Redirect?

301 Redirect is a server-side HTTP response code. When you visit a website and get the right page the HTTP response code used is 200 OK. You may have come across these other response codes also. Remember these? (‘404 - Not Found', '403 - Forbidden' and, '500 - Server Error') In simple words, a 301 Redirect example is like a mail forwarding or re-routing service.

If the URL of any of your pages has changed, a visitor to that URL will come across a '404 – Page not found' message. You can configure the server to redirect the old URL visitors to the new URL using 301 Redirect. Once you implement a server-side 301 Redirect, visit the old URL. The 301 Redirect response code reroutes and shows the new URL. This happens seamlessly and you may not be aware unless you check the URL. Browser plug-ins that alert a user about a URL redirection can alert you in case of a 301 Redirect.

Decorative illustration

You may be wondering if there is a limit on how many times you can use a 301 Redirect on a website. The good news is there are no limits to using 301 redirects. But, you should do a single hop 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL. This will help in creating an amazing user experience. It will also improve search engine page ranking and SEO. In case you use many 301 redirects between your old URL to get to the new URL, Google may not follow all. This can lead to latency in page loading, higher visitor bounce rates, and lower page ranks.

Using 301 vs. 302 redirect

301 Redirect usage is for page URL’s that need permanent movement. But, if your page URL move is temporary, you can use a 302 Redirect. Here are some cases where you should use a 302 Redirect.

Your website is being launched in a phased manner. The URLs used are likely to be different when all the phases are ready. You may be redirecting users for a few URLs that do not impact SEO rankings or search engine listings. You may be using some temporary URL’s and need redirection. Few examples are technical migration activity, development fixes, or feature launches.

301 Redirect Checker

A Redirect checker can help you identify inaccurate redirects. A 301 Redirect or 302 Redirect may be inaccurate across a complete website. You can check inaccuracies across different user agents. Desktop Browsers, Mobile Devices, and Search Engine Bots are some among other parameters. Verify all URL redirects using a redirect checker for optimal redirection.

How To Implement a 301 Redirect?

You can implement a 301 redirect using “htaccess redirect”. This is for websites running on Apache servers. Make changes to the server’s .htaccess file. Or create a new .htaccess file.

A sample - Single URL redirect with changes to the .htaccess file appears like this one. Redirect 301 /old-pageURL.html http://www.clarityventures.com/new-pageURL.html Detailed information on implementing “htaccess redirect” is available here. Apache .htaccess Tutorial and the Apache URL Rewriting Guide. For non-Apache servers, you can consult your hosting partner.

Examples of 301 Redirects usage in many scenarios

When should you use 301 Redirects?

  • When your website is ready
    Once your website is ready, you should ensure that the domain URL’s all points to your preferred domain. Secure domains are preferable. HTTPS instills confidence in your visitors. You will have the following versions for your website. http://yourwebsite.com & http://www.yourwebsite.com. As well as the secure SSL ones with HTTPS, https://yourwebsite.com & https://www.yourwebsite.com. Your preferred domain should be https://www.yourwebsite.com. Visitors accessing the other URL versions go to your preferred domain via an innate redirect.
  • When you change to an HTTPS
    Privacy laws are becoming more stringent. Your website URL’s with HTTP are prone to cyber attacks as they are not secure. Risks of personal data intercepted from contact forms exist. Use 301 redirects when you change your website or pages from HTTP to HTTPS. This notifies search engines to index your website under the new protocol.
  • When you have broken links or pages
    Broken links or pages usually deliver a 404 – Page not found error. You can either fix the URL or use a 301 Redirect to point it to the relevant page.
  • When you change URL’s or redesign a website
    It’s always good to keep URLs' the same for SEO purposes. When you redesign a website, you may have a reorganized page structure and new URL’s. If you are changing URL’s you must use a 301 redirect to let Google know that it is an old page that has moved to a new URL. This will help maintain SEO and search rankings.
  • Merging domains
    Brands or website domains get combined due to acquisition or merger reasons. You may need to prevent duplicate information. Or redirect to the relevant information. Exercising 301 redirects is the right option in this scenario.

301 redirects are helpful for the scenarios mentioned above. Efficient implementation of 301 redirects ensures you get positive SEO results. Your customer experience will be more engaging and delightful.