Understanding Web Page Redirection, the smart way
This article is intended to help you understand web page redirection and some of the technologies involved with doing so.
If you are looking for a more comprehensive guide to redirecting your page. Or if you are anxious for code samples on redirecting your page, then please reference this article: How to redirect a web page, the smart way.
What is Web Page Redirection?
Well, obviously this is simple, and not very complicated; redirecting a web page just means that you get transfered to another web page when accessing the current page or attempting to. That is pretty clear.
What isn’t clear — is that there are really at least 2 major different forms of web page redirection; Client-side Redirection & Server-side Redirection
What is Client-side Redirection?
Well in this context, it’s your browser. More specifically: the contents of the web page your browser literally downloaded is the client (html). Because when you visit a web page, that page is downloaded and stored temporarily on your computer (also known as being cached).
What is Server-side Redirection?
Basically, as a user visiting a web page — you can’t see anything that happens on the server-side.
This means that when a redirection occurs on the server-side, the only way you see it is that the original URL you were contacting suddenly changes to the new URL that the server-side is redirecting to. This is typically the best way to go about redirecting, because it is really the only “safe” way of communicating to a search engine “Hey, this page has been moved, here is the correct URL”
With that said, it is important to understand the different types of URL redirection. Ultimately, the redirection occurs when your browser or client is instructed of the redirection. My rule of thumb is to not ever redirect unless it is permanent. That doesn’t necessarily apply to everything, but it is a safe route.
The 301 redirect is really the only redirect I use, because it is intended to be a permanent redirect, and search engines recognize this.
What should I stay away from?
In short: Client-side Redirection. These methods of redirecting a web page range from using html meta tags, to javascript, and even using flash embedded on a page to redirect. All of these methods are notorious for getting you de-indexed from search engines, or at the very least, you’re page getting automatically penalized from search engines. Stay away from client-side redirection, unless it is user-initiated (like clicking on a link).
That pretty much sums it up. It is important to keep in mind that if you are trying to redirect your page, do some research to find out exactly which redirect is right for you.
Colin Miller said,
June 13, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
So… If I want to move a site from a domain that has good PR to a new domain that is more keyword orientated (using 301), would the page rank transfer? Or would I lose it?
The new domain actually consists of good keywords that I am most searched under, whilst my current domain doesn’t, its just my name. i would be interested in your your thoughts on this, it’s a pretty big gamble, but you may know the answer
Joe said,
May 29, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Hi Steve,
The articles are excellent. I have a question that I would like to ask to see if you can offer any advice.
We are redoing our company website, keeping the same domain name but the pages will be different. We are moving from an old, antiquated structure to a Joomla-based website (on Linux) with SEO.
We are using Redirect 301s in our .htaccess file for pretty much all of the pages, and our tests show that they work fine. The issue is this:
In the old website, my top-level Support page was:
http://www.mydomain.com/support/tech-1.asp
In the new website, the top-level Support page is:
http://www.mydomain.com/Support/Tech-Support-Overview.html
So, we put in a Redirect 301 as follows (which works fine):
Redirect 301 /support/tech-1.asp http://www.mydomain.com/Support/Tech-Support-Overview.html
So far, so good. However, in various documents we send out to customers, we tell them that if they have any support questions, they should go to:
http://www.mydomain.com/support
In the old website, if you typed that into the browser you immediately were redirected to http://www.mydomain.com/support/tech-1.asp.
However, typing it into the new browser brings a 404 error page.
In order to rectify this, I proposed that we place a new Redirect in .htaccess as follows:
Redirect 301 /support http://www.mydomain.com/Support/Tech-Support-Overview.html
My MIS person refuses to do this, saying that the initial URL _MUST_ be a page/file with an ending like htm, html, asp, php, etc.
Is this correct? If so, do you have any advice?
Many thanks.
Joe
Steven Hargrove said,
May 22, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
Chris M,
I can not guarantee that a 302 won’t effect your search engine rankings. However, I can tell you that I believe that it is probably not exactly the route you want to take.
You see, 302 temporary redirects are typically rendered as being well, temporary. And of course the search engines will recognize this. I do not know the exact effect of this, but I don’t presume it will positively affect your rankings.
Your best bet? Solve the legal issue. I don’t know the legal details, but let me provide a scenario:
I have my site on a domain name called widget.com. Let’s say “Widget” is a trademarked name and obviously I have legal issues there.
What would I do to keep my traffic and cut my losses? Create a new, legal domain name, and use a 301 redirect from widget.com -> LegalWidget.com.
If the legal issues require you to take the site down immediately, and you are just looking for solutions? Well, I would probably stay away from 302 redirects. Instead, I would post a page for the site, that clearly tells my visitors that this site is now called LegalWidget.com, and they can find what their looking for there.
It’s a tough spot your in, don’t take the redirecting methods lightly.
Hope that helps, good luck!
Chris M said,
May 22, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Thank you for your article. I have a situation that I think requires a 302 temporary redirect. Please give me some advice:
A client of mine has to stop using their current website for 2 years due to a legal matter. In the meantime, they want that URL to be redirected to their new website URL. After the two years are over, they hope to have the other website up and running again.
We do not want to be penalized by the search engines in any way. In this case, what would you do? I have never had to redirect a website before and I want to do it correctly. Thanks!
Chris
Bob Miller said,
March 22, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
What I learned was I will not do it. I’ll just put a link on page until I can get someone to do a server side redirect.
Thanks’
Bob Miller
Brad Montgomery said,
March 7, 2008 @ 2:57 pm
thanks. I’m updating my site now and this article is really helpful.
Thanks for the post.
Brad