Redirects are an important element of any website that can be crucial for users and for search engines. They allow users to be redirected from one page to another, which can be useful in many situations. Some of these include changing the address URL pages, updating content, or fixing 404 errors. However, the unskillful use of redirects can have a negative impact on the SEO and on the user experience. Therefore, it is worth learning about their different types and the rules for their use. In this article, you will learn what a 302 temporary redirect is, its use and how to check that it has been implemented correctly.
When and why are redirects used on a website?
Site redirects have many uses and benefits for both users and site owners.
Here are some of the most important reasons why they are used:
- Updating URLs - if you change the URL of a page, you can use redirection to redirect users from the old page to the new one. This will prevent 404 errors and loss of traffic to the site. If you update the URL but do not implement a redirect, the user will end up on an error page and leave the site.
- Improving user experience - With redirections, you can provide your users with easier access to the information they need. How? By redirecting them to a more relevant page or offering an alternative way to reach the desired content.
- Error correction - if a user arrives at a page that does not work or is not available, a redirect can redirect the user to another page that is available and offers the necessary information.
It is worth noting once again the large The importance of redirects for SEO. They make it possible to eliminate 404 errors, which have a negative impact on the positioning pages. In what way? In two ways. Firstly, 404 errors annoy Internet users. They make them leave the site and you lose valuable traffic and potential customers. But that's not all. 404 errors also annoy Google's robots. Imagine that your website ranked highly for a valuable phrase for your business. However, it appears error 404. Google notices this because the page rejection rate increases. What then? The position of the page in Google drops, because the search engine wants users to go to pages that meet their expectations.
301 vs 302 redirection - find out the difference
You already have a general idea of what redirects are used for. It's time to learn about their different types.
There are two basic types of redirection:
- 301 redirection - is a permanent redirect, which informs browsers and search engines that a page has been moved to a new URL and should be treated as a new, permanent location. A 301 redirect is usually used to update URLs and helps to maintain the SEO value from the old site to the new site.
- 302 redirection - is a temporary redirect that informs browsers and search engines that a page has been temporarily moved to another URL. Compared to a 301 redirect, with a 302, the power of the old subpage is not transferred to the new one.
Both 301 and 302 redirects are a tool that allows you to move a user from one page to another to prevent a loss of organic traffic or a drop in site traffic. This ensures that when a user tries to access a page that returns a 404 error, instead of terminating the session, they are automatically redirected to a new, valid page that replaces the old one. This helps to maintain SEO value while improving the experience for the user, who stays on the site and does not leave because of the error.
302 redirect - what is it?
A 302 redirect is a type of redirect on a website that tells browsers and search engines that a page has been moved temporarily to another URL. This means that the page at the new address is treated as a temporary location, while the original page with the URL is still valid and accessible. A 302 redirect is represented by the message Found - found, and the robots are told that the content they are looking for is not at the address in question, but can be found in another location.
A 302 redirect is useful if you are moving a page to a different URL, but intend to restore it at the original address in the future. This can apply to marketing activities when you want users to have access to a special offer or promotion during a specific period.
When is a 302 redirect typically used?
- when rebuilding the page in question - for the duration of the redevelopment, users can be redirected to the home page or one that is most similar to the page being redeveloped
- when you have a seasonal offer - at the end of the summer season you can redirect the sub-page with the offer of that season to the one of the winter season
- when your shop is sold out of a particular product, but it may still be on sale - for the duration of the shortage you can set the redirection to the most similar product
However, it is important not to abuse the 302 redirect and only use it in cases where you are moving a page temporarily. Otherwise, if a page is redirected using a 302 redirect and the original page is completely removed, the positioning of the page in search results may be negatively affected. In this case, you should use 301 redirect, which indicates that the page has been permanently transferred. Remember also that incorrectly set redirects can result in error 310 -. Too many redirects. It implies the creation of a redirection loop, which makes it impossible to reach the address specified in the instructions.
A 302 redirect can be set up using a variety of solutions. These include the .htaccess file (in the case of the Apache server), plug-ins for platforms CMS, code PHP, JavaScript code. Below you will find a general description of the steps to set up a 302 redirect using the .htaccess file or via the web.config file:
- Enter the 302 redirect code. The 302 redirect code can be entered in the .htaccess or web.config file, depending on the type of server the website is running on. An example 302 redirect code for an .htaccess file looks like the following:
Redirect 302 /old-page.html http://twoja-strona.pl/nowa-strona.html
In this example, a redirect will be set for the page named "old-page.html" and the user will be redirected to a new page with the address "http://twoja-strona.pl/nowa-strona.html". - Save the file and test the redirection.
Remember that incorrectly setting up the rules in this file may cause the site to stop working! Therefore, always make a copy before working with this file.
Another way you can set up redirects is to use a plugin for this purpose. This solution does not require any interference with the website code or specialised knowledge. To set up a 302 redirect using a plug-in on the platform WordPresssearch in the plugin repository Redirection. This plug-in is a popular redirection management tool that allows you to easy setting of both 301 and 302 redirects, as well as allowing you to track site traffic and manage 404 errors. All you need to do is enter the URL of the page you want to redirect to in the 'From' field, enter the URL of the page you want to redirect the user to in the 'To' field and select the '302 Found' redirect type from the drop-down list.
How do I check that the redirection has been correctly implemented?
There are a number of online tools that allow you to check whether the redirection is working correctly. It is worth using, for example. Redirect Checker, which allows you to check whether the redirection is set up correctly or whether there are any errors, e.g. redirection loops.
You have reached the end of an article in which we discussed the concept of redirects on a website and their different types with a particular focus on the 302 redirect, which indicates that a URL has been temporarily moved to another address. In the article, we also described how to set up 302 redirects and how to check that it has been implemented correctly. Remember that the correct implementation of redirects is an essential part of website optimisation and allows it to improve its visibility in search engines and the user experience.
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