Why redirects matter
A redirect sends visitors and search engines from one address to another: from HTTP to HTTPS, from example.com to www.example.com, or from an old page to its new address after a redesign. Done well, it is invisible and keeps the page’s ranking. Done badly — chains of several hops, loops, temporary redirects where a permanent one is needed — it slows the site down and can cost you search visibility.
What the checker shows
- Every step of the chain with its HTTP status code (301, 302, 307, 308, 200, 404…) and its response time.
- Loops, where an address ends up redirecting to itself.
- Long chains: ideally, any address reaches its final page in one step.
- The final address and its status: a redirect that ends on an error page is a broken link.
301 or 302?
Use a 301 (or 308) for a permanent move: search engines transfer the old page’s signals to the new one. Keep 302 and 307 for genuinely temporary situations. After a redesign, test your most important old addresses one by one, then look for broken links in your pages with the broken link checker. Our website development projects include a full redirect plan when addresses change.
Read our guide: redesigning a website without losing your rankings.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a 302 redirect bad for SEO?
Not when the move is genuinely temporary. For a permanent move, use a 301 or 308 so search engines transfer the old page’s signals.
How many redirects is too many?
Ideally one. Each extra step slows the page down, and long chains may not be followed to the end.
Why is a step marked as not checked?
The site disallows crawlers in its robots.txt, or the address is not public. We respect those choices.