The need for redirects may seem exotic when a website is new. A new website with just a few pages is simple enough.

But websites grow over time. You start to have more URLs to deal with as you add more pages and build out more categories. You might realize your URLs are more complicated than you would like. Or you may be led to pages that don’t perform well that should be removed or combined with others by a website audit.

What is a Website Redirect?

A website redirection points to a new page with your old URL. When someone types in or click on that original URL, they will instead be taken to the page to which you have set the redirect. It guarantees that visitors do not end up on a 404 page and find something relevant to what they were originally looking for instead.

And it keeps you from losing the value of any links you’ve built to that page that are essential for optimizing the search engine, as well as anyone who clicks on one of those links’ user experience. On a page-by-page basis, or at the domain level, you can implement redirects.

Types of URL Redirects:

301 Redirect:

A permanent redirect is a 301 redirect. This type of redirection takes place at the level of both a browser and a server. It’s the most widely used and strongest redirect. All the SEO authority of the existing URL is passed on. And this sort of redirection is recognized and indexed by search engines, making it the best SEO choice.

302 Redirect:

A temporary redirect is a 302 redirect. It should only be used when, at some point, you intend to move back to the old URL. 302 redirects are not very frequently used. Consider carefully whether you might be better off using a 301 redirect if you’re considering using a 302 redirect.

Meta Refresh:

A meta refresh is a redirect that functions without updating the server by telling the browser to go to the new page. You can clarify the amount of time it should take for the redirect to the new page to happen when setting up a meta refresh. Search engines sometimes interpret a meta refresh in the same way as a 301 redirect, particularly if the allotted time is zero or one second. But how search engines read a meta refresh is not entirely consistent, and by causing the visitor to wait to get to the page they are looking for, they create a worse user experience.

You are likely to be better off with a 301 redirect in instances where you’re considering a meta refresh.