Free Redirect Checker
Follow a URL through every redirect to its destination, showing each hop and its status code, so you can spot chains, loops and temporary redirects left in place by mistake.
The page is fetched once and nothing is stored. Sites that block automated requests may not respond.
How to use this tool
- Paste the starting URL — usually an old one you have redirected.
- Check that the chain ends on a 200, not an error.
- Reduce chains of more than two hops by pointing the first URL at the last.
What is Redirect Checker?
Redirect chains accumulate quietly. A site moves to https, then to a new domain, then a URL structure changes, and each migration adds a hop to redirects nobody revisits. Every hop costs latency and dilutes the signals being passed along.
The worst outcome is a chain that ends on a 404 or loops back on itself. Both waste crawl budget and lose whatever value the original URL had.
Best practices
- Keep chains to a single hop wherever you can.
- Update internal links to point at the final URL rather than relying on redirects.
- Use 301 for permanent moves so signals transfer.
- Redirect to the closest equivalent page, not the homepage.
- Re-check old redirects after a migration; that is when chains form.
Frequently asked questions
How many redirects are too many?
Google follows several hops, but each one adds delay for the user and loses a little value. One hop is ideal, two is acceptable, more than three is worth fixing.
Do redirects pass full link equity?
Google has said a 301 passes signals with no loss for the first hop. Long chains are still worth avoiding for speed and crawl efficiency, whatever the exact transfer rate.
Why does it not follow my meta-refresh redirect?
A meta refresh or a JavaScript redirect happens after the browser loads the page; this reads the server response only. Both are worth replacing with a server-side 301 regardless.
Related tools
Want this done properly on your site?
These tools handle the checks. If you would rather someone did the work — the audit, the fixes and the content — that is what I do.
Results are provided for informational purposes and may vary depending on the website, browser, network and available data.