What the redirect checker does
When you open a URL, the server can answer “this page is somewhere else” and send the browser on. One redirect is normal. Several in a row slow the page down, waste crawl budget and can lose ranking signals on the way. The checker requests the URL without following redirects automatically, so it can record every step: the status code, the address it points to, how long the server took and the headers that say who sent it.
Enter a bare domain such as example.com and it also traces the four versions of that domain: http, https, www and non-www. All four should end on the same address, ideally in one step.
Status codes you will see
| Code | Meaning | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | Moved permanently | The page has a new address for good. Search engines move the ranking to the new URL. |
| 308 | Permanent redirect | Like 301, but the request method is kept. Fine for SEO. |
| 302 | Found (temporary) | Short moves only, such as a sale page. Search engines may keep the old URL indexed. |
| 307 | Temporary redirect | Like 302 with the method kept. Often sent by HSTS in the browser itself. |
| 200 | OK | The final page loaded. Every chain should end here. |
| 404 or 410 | Not found or gone | The chain ends on a missing page. Point the redirect somewhere useful. |
Who sent the redirect?
WordPress adds an X-Redirect-By header to redirects it makes, and so do many plugins. The report shows it, so you can tell a redirect from WordPress core, Yoast SEO, Rank Math or the Redirection plugin apart from one sent by the web server or a CDN such as Cloudflare. That tells you where to change it.
Fixing common redirect problems in WordPress
- Chains: point the first URL straight at the final one, then update internal links, menus and the sitemap so visitors never start the chain.
- Loops: usually two systems force the same thing, such as a plugin and Cloudflare both forcing https or www. Keep the rule in one place.
- http and www mismatches: set the address you want under Settings, General, and send the other versions there with one 301 at the server or CDN.
- Temporary instead of permanent: in redirect plugins the type is a dropdown on the rule. Choose 301 for moves that will stay.
Want to see what a site runs before you change its redirects? The plugin detector shows which redirect or SEO plugins are installed. To find links that point at redirected or missing pages across a whole site, use the broken link checker.