What’s the difference between 301 redirects and 302 redirects?

At Level Best Marketing, we build and redesign a lot of websites, and redirects are one of the most overlooked parts of every project. They’re invisible when they work and painful when they don’t. One of the most common mistakes we see is using the wrong type.

What a redirect does

A redirect sends visitors and search engines from one URL to another. If someone clicks an old link or bookmark, the redirect silently sends them to the right page instead of a “404 Page Not Found” error.

The type of redirect you use tells search engines how to treat that move. That’s where 301 and 302 come in.

301 redirect: permanent

A 301 tells search engines, “This page has moved for good. Update your records.”

Google will drop the old URL from its index over time and replace it with the new one. The ranking signals the old page built up, like backlinks and authority, get consolidated onto the new URL.

We use a 301 when:

• A website is redesigned and page URLs change
• A business moves to a new domain
• Two similar pages are combined into one
• A service or page is retired and a close replacement exists
• A site switches from HTTP to HTTPS, or from “www” to non-www

302 redirect: temporary

A 302 tells search engines, “This page is somewhere else for now, but it’s coming back.”

Google generally keeps the original URL in its index, because you’ve told it the change isn’t permanent.

We use a 302 when:

• A page is temporarily down for updates
• A seasonal promotion page should take over for a few weeks
• We’re testing a new version of a page before committing to it
• A product or service is temporarily unavailable

Why this matters

Using 301s and 302s wrong can lead to a slew of mistakes and Google misunderstanding your website. The mistakes we see most often:

1. No redirects at all. This is by far the most common problem. When URLs change during a redesign and nothing is redirected, every backlink pointing to the old pages leads to a dead end. We’ve seen businesses lose rankings they spent years earning because of this.
2. Redesigns launched with 302s. Many website platforms and plugins default to 302. If a developer doesn’t change the setting, every redirect on a new site may be telling Google the move is temporary.
3. Redirect chains. Page A redirects to Page B, which redirects to Page C. Each extra step slows the site down and weakens the signal. Every old URL should point straight to its final destination.
4. Redirecting everything to the homepage. It’s tempting to send every old page to the homepage, but Google often treats that like a broken page anyway. Redirect each old URL to the most relevant new page.

The quick rule of thumb

If the page is never coming back, use a 301. If it is, use a 302.

A quick note on 307 and 308

You may also see 307 and 308 redirects. They work like 302 and 301, respectively, with a technical difference in how browsers handle form submissions. For most small business websites, 301 and 302 are all you need to think about.

Planning a website redesign?

Redirects should be mapped out before a new site launches. When our team redesigns a site, they personally click through every single URL and button within the site to make sure no issues like this will arise.

If you’re planning a website redesign and want to protect the search visibility you’ve already built, we’d love to help. Get in touch.