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Redirect Checker

Free URL redirect checker online: follow every 301, 302, 307, 308 and meta refresh hop, spot loops, compare HTTP→HTTPS / www changes, and read SEO notes on the final destination.

  • Hop-by-hop chain with status, type, and timing
  • Follows HTTP redirects and optional meta refresh
  • Detects loops, long chains, and temporary-vs-permanent mixes
  • Flags HTTP→HTTPS, www↔apex, and trailing-slash changes
  • Googlebot / Bingbot User-Agent presets
  • Public CORS API from your browser — we do not log your URLs

Check

Queries redirectcheck.org (CORS API) — hops leave the browser; we do not log them

Browser fetch cannot expose intermediate Location hops cross-origin. This tool calls a public redirect API that returns the full chain as JSON. If that API is down, we fall back to Microlink (final URL + partial hops). Private/local IPs are blocked by design (SSRF protection).

Paste a URL to trace 301/302/meta hops and compare the final destination.

How to check a redirect chain online

  1. 01

    Paste the URL

    Enter a full URL or bare domain. Bare hosts default to https://. Use the http:// form when you want to verify an HTTP→HTTPS upgrade.

  2. 02

    Pick User-Agent and meta refresh

    Leave Chrome for a normal browser view, or switch to Googlebot / Bingbot when rules differ by crawler. Keep “Follow meta refresh” on unless you only care about HTTP Location headers.

  3. 03

    Run the check

    The tool asks a public redirect API (CORS-enabled) for the chain. If that API is unreachable, it falls back to Microlink for the final URL and any partial hops.

  4. 04

    Read hops and SEO notes

    Confirm status codes (301 vs 302), hop count, loops, and badges for HTTPS, www, or trailing-slash changes. Copy the chain when you need it in a ticket.

Why a redirect checker online matters for SEO#

When you migrate a site, consolidate www and apex, or force HTTPS, search engines need a clean path from every old URL to the canonical one. A redirect checker (or url redirect checker online) shows that path hop by hop: status code, Location target, and how long each step took. Guessing from the address bar is not enough — browsers follow redirects silently and hide intermediate statuses.

A 301 redirect checker online is especially useful after launches. One permanent hop is ideal. Chains of four or five 301s still “work” for users but waste crawl budget and dilute signals. Temporary 302 / 307 codes are fine for short tests; leaving them in place for a permanent move tells crawlers the old URL may come back.

301 vs 302 vs meta refresh — what this redirect test online shows#

301 Moved Permanently and 308 Permanent Redirect are the SEO-friendly “this URL moved for good” signals. 302 Found, 303 See Other, and 307 Temporary Redirect keep the original URL as the long-term identifier. This redirect checker tool labels each hop so you can see mixed permanent/temporary chains at a glance.

Meta refresh (<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=…">) still appears on old CMS themes and interstitial pages. Crawlers may treat it as a soft redirect, but it is slower and less reliable than an HTTP 301/308. When “Follow meta refresh” is enabled, those hops appear with type meta so you can replace them.

Browser limits — why we use a public CORS API#

A static site cannot read cross-origin Location headers with fetch({ redirect: "manual" }) — the browser often returns an opaque redirect. That is why a pure client-side redirect checker url flow cannot rebuild a full chain without help. DevSEOCraft does not run a redirect proxy on our origin.

Instead, the workspace calls redirectcheck.org (POST /api/check), which returns JSON with every hop, loop detection, optional canonical / X-Robots-Tag, and Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *. Your URL leaves the browser toward that API (and Microlink if we fall back). We do not receive or store the query on DevSEOCraft servers. Private and loopback addresses are blocked by the API’s SSRF protections — expected, not a bug.

What to fix when the redirect checker flags issues#

Long chains — point the first hop straight at the final URL. HTTP→HTTPS and www↔apex should each be a single permanent redirect, not stacked. Trailing-slash policy should be consistent so you are not bouncing /page ↔ /page/ forever.

Loops break crawlers and users — fix before launch. Redirects into 4xx/5xx waste equity; confirm the final status is 200 (or the intentional soft-404 pattern your CMS uses). After server changes, re-run the same redirect test online with Googlebot UA if your CDN serves different rules to bots.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a free redirect checker online?

Yes. It runs in your browser against a public CORS redirect API — no DevSEOCraft account. Fair-use limits belong to that API, not to a quota on our site.

Can I use it as a 301 redirect checker?

Yes. Each hop shows its status code. Permanent moves should be 301 or 308; if you still see 302/307 on a migration URL, update the server rules and re-check.

Why can’t the browser alone show every hop?

Cross-origin fetches hide intermediate Location headers. A redirect checker tool needs either a backend or a CORS-enabled redirect API. We use the latter and say so in the UI.

Does it follow meta refresh redirects?

Yes when “Follow meta refresh” is checked (default). Meta hops are labeled separately so you can replace them with HTTP redirects.

What User-Agent should I pick?

Chrome matches a typical visitor. Choose Googlebot or Bingbot when you suspect CDN or robots-specific redirect rules. Results can differ by UA.

Why did a local or private IP fail?

The upstream API blocks loopback and private ranges (SSRF protection). Check those hosts with curl on your network instead.

Do you store the URLs I test?

No. DevSEOCraft does not operate the redirect backend. Your browser talks to redirectcheck.org (or Microlink on fallback); we never receive the URL on our origin.

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