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World desk9 min

301 vs. 302 Redirects for Site Migrations: Which Should You Use?

Use 301 for permanent URL moves and 302 for temporary diversions. This guide covers Google Search signals, URL mapping, server configuration, redirect chains, monitoring and migration troubleshooting.

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Use a 301 redirect when a URL has moved permanently; use a 302 when the diversion is genuinely temporary. For a domain, protocol, or permanent path migration, send each old URL directly to its closest relevant replacement with a server-side 301 (or permanent 308). A 302 is for a short-lived diversion where the original URL should remain the preferred address in Google Search, such as an A/B test or temporary outage.

The status code is only one part of a safe migration. Accurate URL mapping, short redirect paths, updated sitemaps and links, Search Console monitoring, and a long enough retention period determine whether users and search engines reach the right pages.

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301 and 302 redirects at a glance

Both status codes tell a browser that the requested address has another location. Their intended duration, and therefore their search implications, are different.

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Decision axis 301 (permanent) 302 (temporary)
Use when The move is permanent or is not expected to be reversed. The diversion is expected to end and the original URL should remain in use.
Google Search interpretation Google can use the redirect as a signal that the destination should be canonical and show the new target in results. Google follows the redirect, but does not use it as the same canonicalization signal; the old URL may remain in results.
Typical migration example Changing domains, moving HTTP to HTTPS, or permanently renaming a path. Routing visitors during a short outage or sending traffic to an A/B-test variation.
Related HTTP options 308 is another permanent redirect. 307 and 303 are other temporary redirect types.

These interpretations describe Google Search. Other search engines may apply different indexing signals, so do not assume identical behavior everywhere.

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What “permanent” and “temporary” mean in practice

A 301 changes the intended address

A 301 says the old URL is no longer the address you want people and crawlers to use. During a migration, it gives Google a clear signal to transfer the old page’s search relationship to the new destination. Google Search Central recommends server-side permanent redirects for a permanent move and lists both 301 and 308 as permanent options.

Permanent does not mean the old URL must disappear immediately. Visitors, crawlers, bookmarks and external links can continue to request it for months. Keeping the redirect available lets those requests reach the replacement while Google recrawls and processes the change.

A 302 preserves the original intent

A 302 says the requested URL is being diverted for now. Google can follow it to serve users, but the temporary code does not provide the same canonicalization signal as a 301. That makes it appropriate when you expect to restore the original page or when the original address should remain the one indexed.

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Google specifically gives URL-based A/B testing as a 302 use case. If you are comparing a test variation with the original page, a permanent redirect could send the wrong long-term signal.

Which code fits common migration scenarios?

Domain migration

If a site is moving from one domain to another for good, use a 301 from each old URL to the matching URL on the new domain. Preserve the path and page purpose where possible. A host-level rule can work for a one-to-one path migration, but verify that every path exists on the new site before relying on a broad rule.

HTTP to HTTPS

When HTTPS is the permanent version of the site, redirect each HTTP URL to its HTTPS counterpart with a 301. Update internal links and the XML sitemap so normal navigation no longer depends on a redirect.

Permanent path or information-architecture change

Use a 301 when a product, article, category or other page has a new permanent path. Map the old page to the most relevant new page, not automatically to the home page. If no comparable replacement exists, decide deliberately whether the old URL should return a suitable status rather than sending unrelated visitors elsewhere.

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Temporary outage or maintenance

A 302 can route visitors to a temporary status page or alternate location while the original URL is expected to return. Remove the temporary rule when service is restored and confirm that the original page responds normally.

Experiments and campaign variations

For a short-lived URL experiment, use a 302 so the original address remains the intended indexed URL. Keep the test duration and redirect behavior consistent, then remove the rule when the experiment ends.

Uncertain moves

If the business decision is not final, treat the diversion as temporary until it is. Once the destination is confirmed as permanent, replace the temporary redirect with a direct permanent redirect and update links, sitemaps and canonical references.

How to implement a migration with 301 redirects

1. Build a complete old-to-new URL inventory

Export the old site’s important URLs from its CMS, server logs, analytics and sitemap. Include pages that receive organic visits, backlinks, bookmarks or internal links, not only the URLs visible in the main navigation.

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Create a mapping with one row per old URL and record the final destination, redirect code, test result and launch status. The destination should preserve the old page’s topic and user intent as closely as the new architecture allows.

2. Prepare and test the new site before switching traffic

Google’s migration guidance recommends preparing the new site and testing it before the changeover. Check that pages render, assets load, forms work, navigation points to the new host and the server can handle increased crawling after launch.

Test representative URLs in a staging or controlled environment, including the home page, deep content, parameterized URLs, trailing-slash variants, redirects between protocols and any international or mobile variants your site uses.

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3. Configure server-side redirects

Server-side rules return the HTTP status before a page is rendered. The following examples are patterns to adapt to your server and path structure; test them on a small set before applying them site-wide.

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  • Apache: Redirect 301 /old-path https://www.example.com/new-path
  • Apache mod_rewrite: RewriteRule ^old-path/?$ https://www.example.com/new-path [R=301,L]
  • NGINX: location = /old-path { return 301 https://www.example.com/new-path; }
  • PHP: header('Location: https://www.example.com/new-path', true, 301); exit;

For a domain move with identical paths, an NGINX rule can preserve the requested path: return 301 https://new.example.com$request_uri;. Use this only after confirming that the destination site supports those paths; otherwise create explicit page-level mappings.

4. Point directly to the final destination

Avoid chains such as old URL → temporary URL → new URL → HTTPS URL. Google says it can follow up to 10 redirect hops, but advises keeping chains low—ideally no more than three and fewer than five. Each extra hop adds latency and can be unsupported by some clients.

When you discover an existing chain, change the first rule so the old URL goes straight to the final HTTPS, host and path combination. Also update internal links so visitors do not repeatedly encounter redirects.

5. Launch the new site and submit its sitemap

At cutover, enable the tested rules, verify that old URLs return 301 and that the response location is the intended final URL. Submit the new XML sitemap in Google Search Console. Update navigation, canonical elements, structured-data URLs, hreflang references and other important links to use the new addresses directly.

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6. Monitor both old and new properties

Track redirect responses, destination status codes, crawl activity, indexed pages, impressions, clicks, conversions and server load. Keep the old and new properties available in Search Console so you can compare coverage and inspect individual URLs.

Some temporary visibility fluctuation is normal while Google recrawls old URLs, discovers new ones and processes the signals. The timing depends on site size, the number of changed URLs and server speed; there is no single guaranteed completion date.

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7. Keep redirects in place

Google recommends retaining migration redirects for as long as possible, generally at least one year, to allow recrawling and signal processing. Users may continue to follow old bookmarks or links indefinitely. You can reduce ongoing latency by updating links you control, but do not remove redirects merely because the new site is already indexed.

URL mapping: the difference between a useful redirect and a dead end

Page-level relevance is more important than making every old request resolve somewhere. A redirect should answer the visitor’s original need.

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Old URL Better destination Why
/guides/ssl-setup /guides/https-setup The subject and task remain equivalent.
/products/model-a /products/model-a-2026 The replacement is the same product line or successor.
/blog/retired-feature A closely related replacement guide, if one exists Visitors receive a useful next step rather than an unrelated page.
Many unrelated old URLs The home page Usually a poor mapping; it hides the loss of page relevance and can frustrate users.

Where no meaningful replacement exists, record that decision explicitly and test the resulting user experience. Do not create hundreds of unrelated redirects simply to eliminate every old path.

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How 301 and 302 redirects affect Google Search

Canonical selection and indexed URLs

Google’s official redirect documentation says permanent redirects show the new redirect target in search results. In a migration, that is why a 301 communicates that the old address has been replaced. A 302 can still be crawled and followed, but the old URL may remain the indexed result because the diversion is treated as temporary.

Crawling and processing time

Google must crawl old URLs, receive the redirect, fetch the new URLs and process other signals such as internal links and sitemaps. Larger URL inventories and slower servers increase the work. Keep the new infrastructure ready for the extra crawl demand immediately after launch.

Temporary ranking volatility

Impressions or rankings can move while signals are being recrawled and consolidated. Compare trends across both properties instead of judging the migration from a single day. Investigate sustained losses by checking destination relevance, crawl errors, blocked resources, server capacity and redirect accuracy.

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Troubleshooting common redirect problems

The old URL still appears in Google

Confirm that the old address returns the intended permanent status, not a 302, and that it points to the final destination. Check that the new page is crawlable, returns a successful response and is included in the submitted sitemap. Search results can take time to change while Google recrawls the old URL.

Visitors are caught in a redirect loop

A loop usually occurs when two rules send requests back and forth—for example, HTTP to HTTPS on one layer and HTTPS to HTTP on another, or conflicting host rules. Request the URL with a header tool, identify each Location response, then make one layer authoritative and test every protocol and host variant.

A URL has too many hops

List each response in sequence and replace the first rule with a direct link to the final URL. Consolidate protocol, host and path changes into one response where your server configuration permits it. Re-test with query strings and trailing-slash variants because a single forgotten pattern can preserve the chain.

The redirect lands on the wrong page

Return to the mapping sheet and compare the old page’s intent with the destination. Correct the rule to the closest relevant replacement, then update internal links that still point to an obsolete or generic address.

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The migration caused a sharp traffic drop

First verify that the server is returning 301 responses for the intended old URLs and successful responses for the new ones. Review Search Console coverage, crawl errors and indexing, then inspect a sample from each major template. Check that robots directives, authentication, canonical tags and sitemap URLs were not carried over incorrectly. Also confirm that the new server can handle the crawl increase without timeouts.

A temporary 302 was left in place

If the move is now permanent, change the rule to a direct 301, update the sitemap and internal links, and remove intermediate test destinations. Keep monitoring until the new URL is consistently crawled and indexed.

301, 302, 308, 307 and 303: choosing among related codes

The permanent-versus-temporary decision comes first. Google’s redirect overview identifies 301 and 308 as permanent choices, while 302, 307 and 303 are temporary choices. A 308 can be useful when your infrastructure requires the method-preserving semantics of that code, but a standard 301 is the familiar migration option supported by most site configurations. Choose one code deliberately and test how your server, application and clients handle it.

Do not substitute a meta-refresh page or JavaScript navigation for a server-side redirect when a server rule is available. A server response is immediate, measurable and easier for crawlers and clients to process consistently.

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Migration checklist

  • Decide whether each move is permanent or temporary before choosing a status code.
  • Prepare and test the new site before changing DNS, host or path rules.
  • Map every important old URL to its closest relevant final destination.
  • Use server-side 301 redirects for permanent migrations; consider 308 where its semantics are required.
  • Use 302 for temporary diversions and URL-based experiments.
  • Keep chains ideally to three hops or fewer than five; send old URLs directly to the final destination.
  • Update internal links, canonical references, structured data, hreflang and XML sitemaps.
  • Submit the new sitemap and monitor old and new properties in Search Console.
  • Ensure the new server can handle increased crawling after launch.
  • Keep migration redirects for as long as possible, generally at least one year.

For a true site migration, the practical answer is therefore a direct, page-relevant, server-side 301 (or permanent 308) from every old URL to its final replacement. Reserve 302 for diversions you intend to undo.

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