301 and 302 codes redirect from one URL to another. For site visitors, it doesn’t matter what redirect is used. This difference is important for search engines.
301 Moved Permanently — permanent redirect.
302 Moved Temporarily — temporary redirect.
The choice of the type of redirect depends on the task. If you need to save the page address and post information on it in the future, we recommend using a 302 redirect.
What are 301 and 302 Redirects in Magento
A redirect is a way to send users and search engines to another URL. 301 redirect indicates that a certain page of the website is permanently moved to a new address and its URL should be considered as invalid.
301 (moved permanently) redirect is the best way to keep all website ranking in search engines.
Top reasons to add 301 redirect
Code 301 is an effective, easy-to-implement version of web page redirection. This is a convenient way to save the rating of a specific page of the site.
Redirect can be called some kind of a magic wand. In the case of moving the entire site or individual pages, it will retain all the results of the work which has already be done: the authority of the domain name and ranking in the search.
301 Redirect vs. Canonical Tag
It is important to keep in mind that a rel=”canonical” tag and 301 redirects seem to perform the same function but there are key differences between them:
- 301 redirect sends a visitor to another page
- 301 redirect shows the search engine that the previous page is outdated and must be replaced with the new one in its index.
When is it best to use 301 redirects?
- By default
- In the case of pages
- When working with domains
- For pages with code 404 and content that has lost its relevance (if you have more relevant content)
Where should you use rel = ”canonical”?
- If it is not possible to configure 301 redirects
- For pages with several different addresses
- In cross-domains, when both web resources have much in common
How to Use 302 Redirect: Main Definitions
302 redirect is useful for both search engines and people. Imagine that you are developing from scratch a stock page with many features. They need to be implemented during 3–4 days, from time to time correcting the appearance and source code of the document. If you do not use redirection, users will see the unfinished page and all changes, and search robots will send the first option to the list.
How to Create a 301 or 302 Redirect in Magento
Magento 2 e-platform provides some options that allow optimizing Magento 2 stores that make it more SEO friendly. Redirects are one of the features that are available, so you can implement all necessary redirects in Magento 2 Admin Panel.
How to Use 301 Redirect: Errors While Using Redirects
We hope that this guide will be useful for you and your website. That’s why we would like to pay your attention to some points which can be real mistakes in your workflow:
- Any multi-level call forwarding
- Using the wrong type of redirects
- Introducing internal redirects without changing links to new addresses
- Redirect to non-relevant pages/content
- Redirect, the endpoint of which is not the 200th page
This is a brief summary of an article published on GoMage blog. If you would like to learn the about 301 redirect vs 302 redirect —read the full article.
