undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • Case Studies
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • Case Studies

      Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. Technical SEO
  4. Redirection chain and Javascript Redirect

Moz Q&A is closed.

After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

Redirection chain and Javascript Redirect

Technical SEO
10
19
2.3k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • LouisPortier
    LouisPortier Subscriber last edited by Mar 17, 2021, 8:28 PM

    Hi,

    A redirection chain is usually defined as a page redirecting to another page which itself is another redirection.

    URL1 ---(301/302)---> URL2 ---(301/302)---> URL3

    But what about Javascript redirect? They seem to be a different beast:

    URL1 ---(301/302)---> URL2 ---(200 then Javascript redirect)---> URL3

    From what I know if the javascript redirect is instant Google counts it as a 301 permanent redirection, but I'm still not sure about if this counts as a redirection chain.

    Most of the tools (such as moz) only see the first redirection.

    So is that scenario a redirection chain or no?

    evanmirk vimu786 2 Replies Last reply Apr 26, 2024, 11:21 AM Reply Quote 0
    • freepointofsales
      freepointofsales last edited by May 4, 2024, 11:09 AM

      It's a delicate balance between efficient routing and ensuring seamless transitions, where every decision shapes the user's path and perception. myvirtualworkplace

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • topic:timeago_earlier,8 days
      • vimu786
        vimu786 @LouisPortier last edited by Apr 26, 2024, 11:21 AM

        @LouisPortier said in Redirection chain and Javascript Redirect:

        Hi,

        A redirection chain is usually defined as a page redirecting to another page which itself is another redirection.

        URL1 ---(301/302)---> URL2 ---(301/302)---> URL3

        But what about Javascript redirect? They seem to be a different beast:

        URL1 ---(301/302)---> URL2 ---(200 then Javascript redirect)---> URL3

        From what I know if the javascript redirect is instant Google counts it as a 301 permanent redirection, but I'm still not sure about if this counts as a redirection chain.

        Most of the tools (such as moz) only see the first redirection.

        So is that scenario a redirection chain or no?

        A JavaScript redirect, on the other hand, is a redirect that occurs using JavaScript code embedded in a webpage. Instead of relying on server-side redirects, JavaScript redirects are triggered when the page loads or when certain conditions are met, and they instruct the browser to navigate to a different URL. They can be used for various purposes, such as redirecting users after a certain amount of time, after a form submission, or based on user interactions.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • freepointofsales
          freepointofsales last edited by Apr 22, 2024, 5:16 PM

          Understanding the intricacies of redirection chains and JavaScript redirects is crucial for optimizing website performance and user experience. Proper implementation ensures smooth navigation and avoids unnecessary delays. Visit more

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • freepointofsales
            freepointofsales last edited by Apr 22, 2024, 5:16 PM

            Understanding the intricacies of redirection chains and JavaScript redirects is crucial for optimizing website performance and user experience. Proper implementation ensures smooth navigation and avoids unnecessary delays. Visit more

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • freepointofsales
              freepointofsales last edited by Apr 22, 2024, 5:16 PM

              Understanding the intricacies of redirection chains and JavaScript redirects is crucial for optimizing website performance and user experience. Proper implementation ensures smooth navigation and avoids unnecessary delays. Visit more

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • freepointofsales
                freepointofsales last edited by Apr 22, 2024, 5:16 PM

                Understanding the intricacies of redirection chains and JavaScript redirects is crucial for optimizing website performance and user experience. Proper implementation ensures smooth navigation and avoids unnecessary delays. Visit more

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • freepointofsales
                  freepointofsales last edited by Apr 22, 2024, 5:16 PM

                  Understanding the intricacies of redirection chains and JavaScript redirects is crucial for optimizing website performance and user experience. Proper implementation ensures smooth navigation and avoids unnecessary delays. Visit more

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • freepointofsales
                    freepointofsales last edited by Apr 22, 2024, 5:16 PM

                    Understanding the intricacies of redirection chains and JavaScript redirects is crucial for optimizing website performance and user experience. Proper implementation ensures smooth navigation and avoids unnecessary delays. Visit more

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • topic:timeago_earlier,2 months
                    • James.Mathew
                      James.Mathew last edited by Mar 4, 2024, 2:13 PM

                      I appreciate your detailed explanation. To enhance accuracy in tracing redirects, ensure a cohesive sequence. Consider using a unified approach for hash numbers, perhaps generating a unique identifier for each transition. Additionally, refine the code logic to account for different redirection techniques, ensuring a seamless and connected mapping of the entire journey from A to D. If possible, share snippets of your code for more targeted guidance. shopify website design servicee austin

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • topic:timeago_earlier,15 days
                      • Heatheranderson
                        Heatheranderson last edited by Feb 18, 2024, 3:23 PM

                        Thank you for the valuable feedback. While the current code successfully executes, it lacks accuracy in tracing the redirect sequence. The issue stems from the disjointed nature of the captured redirects, as seen in the isolated transitions from A to B, B to C, and C to D, where randomly generated hash numbers (channel_1 and channel_2) are utilized. This disrupts the continuity of the redirect chain, resulting in an inaccurate representation of the actual progression from A through D.

                        The objective is to effectively track the entire journey, encompassing transitions from A to B to C to D, across various redirection techniques such as meta-refresh, JavaScript, and HTTP redirects. I would greatly appreciate your guidance on refining the code to maintain the integrity of the redirect sequence, ensuring a connected and sequential mapping of the redirection process. Liteblue

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Heatheranderson
                          Heatheranderson last edited by Feb 18, 2024, 3:23 PM

                          Thank you for the valuable feedback. While the current code successfully executes, it lacks accuracy in tracing the redirect sequence. The issue stems from the disjointed nature of the captured redirects, as seen in the isolated transitions from A to B, B to C, and C to D, where randomly generated hash numbers (channel_1 and channel_2) are utilized. This disrupts the continuity of the redirect chain, resulting in an inaccurate representation of the actual progression from A through D.

                          The objective is to effectively track the entire journey, encompassing transitions from A to B to C to D, across various redirection techniques such as meta-refresh, JavaScript, and HTTP redirects. I would greatly appreciate your guidance on refining the code to maintain the integrity of the redirect sequence, ensuring a connected and sequential mapping of the redirection process. Liteblue

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • silcename123
                            silcename123 last edited by Feb 15, 2024, 10:12 AM

                            In the scenario you described, where there is a sequence of redirects involving both HTTP redirects (301/302) and a JavaScript redirect, it can be considered a redirection chain. The key point is that each step in the sequence contributes to the final destination of the URL.

                            In your example:

                            1. URL1 redirects to URL2 using an HTTP 301/302 status code.
                            2. URL2, after an HTTP 200 response, triggers a JavaScript redirect to URL3.

                            From Google's perspective, if the JavaScript redirect is instantaneous and does not introduce a delay, it might treat it similarly to a traditional 301 permanent redirect. However, it's important to note that search engines may interpret JavaScript redirects differently, and their behavior may evolve over time.

                            Tools like Moz may sometimes focus on the initial HTTP redirect and not delve into subsequent steps, potentially overlooking the complete redirection chain. Therefore, discrepancies in what different tools report could occur.

                            For a more comprehensive understanding, you might consider using tools or methods that specifically analyze JavaScript-based redirects or inspect the network requests in a browser's developer tools to see the entire redirection sequence. This way, you can get a clearer picture of how search engines and various tools interpret the entire redirection chain, including both HTTP and JavaScript redirects.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • arron-williams
                              arron-williams last edited by Feb 13, 2024, 2:52 PM

                              Thank you for the insightful feedback. While the current code executes successfully, it falls short in accurately tracing the redirect sequence. The issue lies in the disjoint nature of the captured redirects, exemplified by the isolated transitions A->B, B->C, and C->D, where the hash numbers (channel_1 and channel_2) are generated randomly. This disrupts the continuity of the redirect chain, failing to reflect the actual progression from A through D. The goal is to effectively track the entire journey, A->B->C->D, across different redirection techniques such as meta-refresh, JavaScript, and HTTP redirects. Could you provide guidance on how to refine the code to maintain the integrity of the redirect sequence, ensuring a connected and sequential mapping of the redirection process?

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • arron-williams
                                arron-williams last edited by Feb 13, 2024, 2:47 PM

                                Thank you for the insightful feedback. While the current code executes successfully, it falls short in accurately tracing the redirect sequence. The issue lies in the disjoint nature of the captured redirects, exemplified by the isolated transitions A->B, B->C, and C->D, where the hash numbers (channel_1 and channel_2) are generated randomly. This disrupts the continuity of the redirect chain, failing to reflect the actual progression from A through D. The goal is to effectively track the entire journey, A->B->C->D, across different redirection techniques such as meta-refresh, JavaScript, and HTTP redirects. Could you provide guidance on how to refine the code to maintain the integrity of the redirect sequence, ensuring a connected and sequential mapping of the redirection process? Liteblue

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • topic:timeago_earlier,13 days
                                • basit11
                                  basit11 last edited by Jan 31, 2024, 1:52 PM

                                  Thank you for your feedback. While the code is currently functional, it doesn't yield the expected outcome. The recorded redirect chain appears disjointed, capturing transitions like A->B (channel_1 -> channel_2), B->C (channel_1 -> channel_2), and C->D (channel_1 -> channel_2). The issue lies in the randomly generated hash numbers (channel_1 and channel_2), preventing the proper linkage of the redirect chain. The goal is to accurately capture sequential events such as A->B->C->D, considering various redirection methods like meta-refresh, JavaScript, and HTTP. How can I modify the code to implement this strategy and ensure the redirection chain is connected as intended?

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • topic:timeago_earlier,23 days
                                  • basit11
                                    basit11 last edited by Jan 8, 2024, 12:44 PM

                                    Thank you for your feedback. Although the code is functional, it does not produce the expected result. Currently, the recorded redirect chain is disjointed, capturing transitions like A->B (channel_1 -> channel_2), B->C (channel_1 -> channel_2), and C->D (channel_1 -> channel_2). In this case, the hash numbers (channel_1 and channel_2) are randomly generated, preventing the proper linking of the redirect chain. The objective is to accurately capture the sequential events of A->B->C->D, considering various redirection methods such as meta-refresh, JavaScript, and HTTP. How can I modify the code to achieve this strategy and ensure the redirection chain is connected as intended? Liteblue

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • topic:timeago_earlier,2 years
                                    • liteblue22022
                                      liteblue22022 last edited by Jan 22, 2022, 5:38 PM

                                      thx, the code works, but not as expected: A->B->C->D (channel_1 -> channel_2 -> channel_3 -> channel_4).

                                      In my case it will record a redirect chain of A->B->C->D like:

                                      A->B (channel_1 -> channel_2), than B->C (channel_1 -> channel_2), C->D (channel_1 -> channel_2); where channel_1 & channel_2 are random hash numbers.

                                      So I can not link the chain together. that would be the strategy to capture the chain of events (while the pages redirect using, meta-refresh, javascript, http...)? Liteblue USPS

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • topic:timeago_earlier,20 days
                                      • evanmirk
                                        evanmirk @LouisPortier last edited by Jan 3, 2022, 5:29 AM

                                        window.location.replace('http://example.com');
                                        

                                        It's better than using window.location.href = 'http://example.com';

                                        Using replace() is better because it does not keep the originating page in the session history, meaning the user won't get stuck in a never-ending back-button fiasco.

                                        If you want to simulate someone clicking on a link, use window.location.href

                                        If you want to simulate an HTTP redirect, use window.location.replace

                                        You can use assign() and replace methods also to javascript redirect to other pages like the following:

                                        location.assign("http://example.com");
                                        

                                        The difference between replace() method and assign() method(), is that replace() removes the URL of the current document from the document history, means it is not possible to use the "back" button to navigate back to the original document. So Use the assign() method if you want to load a new document, andwant to give the option to navigate back to the original document.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • 1 / 1
                                        1 out of 19
                                        • First post
                                          1/19
                                          Last post

                                        Got a burning SEO question?

                                        Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                                        Start my free trial


                                        Browse Questions

                                        Explore more categories

                                        • Moz Tools

                                          Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                                        • SEO Tactics

                                          Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                                        • Community

                                          Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                                        • Digital Marketing

                                          Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                                        • Research & Trends

                                          Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                                        • Support

                                          Connect on product support and feature requests.

                                        • See all categories

                                        Related Questions

                                        • photoseo1

                                          Redirecting an Entire Website?

                                          redirecting domain redirect former site

                                          Is it best to redirect an old website to a new website page by page to like pages or just the entire site all at once to the home page of the new site? I do have about 10 good pages on the site that are worth directing to corresponding pages on the new site. Just trying to figure out what is going to preserve the most link juice. Thanks for the help!

                                          Technical SEO | Apr 7, 2024, 8:55 AM | photoseo1
                                          0
                                        • rwat

                                          Redirect and ranking issue

                                          Hi there - was wondering whether someone might be able to help. For a period of a day and a half, all the traffic to our website's blog articles were mistakenly being redirected to our homepage. A number of these articles ranked in the top 5 in Google worldwide for their targeted keywords, so this was a considerable amount of organic traffic that was instantly being redirected. It was a strange site glitch and our web team rectified the error, but now all these articles have disappeared from Google rankings (not visible anywhere in the first five pages). I'm presuming this must be linked to this redirect issue - we've been advised to wait and see whether Google restores these rankings, but I'm still concerned as to whether this represents a more serious problem? We have re-indexed the pages we are most concerned about, but am not sure whether there is anything else obvious we should think to do. If anyone has any thoughts, I'd be happy to hear them!

                                          Technical SEO | Jan 15, 2018, 4:11 PM | rwat
                                          0
                                        • AaronHenry

                                          WPEngine Causing Redirect Chain

                                          Hi guys, Had a quick question that I wanted to verify here. After reviewing a Moz report we received some redirect chain error on all of our sites hosted with WPEngine. We noticed that the redirect chain appears to be coming from how the domains are configured in their control panel. Essentially, there is a redirect: from staging/temp -> to live from non-www -> to www SSL redirect from http -> https The issue here is that the non-www is redirecting to www and then redirected again to https://www According to support the only way to get rid of this error is to drop the www version of the domain and to host everything under https://domain.com. To me it seems very odd that you cannot just go from http://non-www to https://www in just 1 301 redirect. Has anyone else experienced this or am I just not looking at the situation correctly?

                                          Technical SEO | Aug 10, 2022, 4:01 PM | AaronHenry
                                          0
                                        • Kilgray

                                          Robots txt. in page with 301 redirect

                                          We currently have a a series of help pages that we would like to disallow from our robots txt. The thing is that these help pages are located in our old website, which now has a 301 redirect to current site. Which is the proper way to go around? 1- Add the pages we want to disallow to the robots.txt of the new website? 2- Break the redirect momentarily and add the pages to the robots.txt of the old one? Thanks

                                          Technical SEO | Mar 7, 2016, 2:13 PM | Kilgray
                                          0
                                        • Cocoonfxmedia

                                          301 Redirect non existant pages

                                          Hi I have 100's of URL's appearing in Search Console for example: ?p=1_1 These go to on to 5_200 etc.. I have tried to do htaccess and the mod rewrite is on as I can redirect directories to the root i.e RewriteRule ^web_example(.*)$ /$1 [R=301,N,L] However I have tried all kinds of variations to redirect ?p= and either it doesn't work at all or it crashes the website. Can anyone point me in the right direction to fix this.

                                          Technical SEO | Dec 15, 2015, 5:51 PM | Cocoonfxmedia
                                          0
                                        • MoosaHemani

                                          Is there a limit to Internal Redirect?

                                          I know Google says there is no limit to it but I have seen on many websites that too many 301 redirects can be a problem and might negatively affect your rankings in SERPs. I wanted to know especially from people who worked on large ecommerce site. How do they manage internal redirect from one URL to other and how many according to you are too many. I mean if you get a website that contain 300 plus 301 redirections within the website, how will you deal with that? Please let me know if the question is not clear.

                                          Technical SEO | Sep 3, 2015, 10:53 AM | MoosaHemani
                                          0
                                        • SeaDrive

                                          Redirect root domain to www

                                          I've been having issues with my keyword rankings with MOZ and this is what David at M0Z asked me to do below.   Does anyone have a solution to this?  I'm not 100% sure what to do.  Does it hurt ranking to have a domain at the root or not?  Can I 301 redirect a whole site or do I have to do individual pages. "Your campaign is looking for rankings for the www version of the campaign but the URL resolves as a root domain. This would explain the discrepancy. Since there is no re-direct between the two, you can have brickmarkers.com 301 re-direct to www.site.com  which will prevent you from re-creating your campaign to track the root domain. Once the re-direct is in place it will take a while for Google to show the www version in the results in which your campaign rankings will be accurate." Thanks

                                          Technical SEO | Dec 11, 2013, 1:13 PM | SeaDrive
                                          0
                                        • briankb

                                          301 Redirect vs Domain Alias

                                          We have hundreds of domains which are either alternate spelling of our primary domain or close keyword names we didn't want our competitor to get before us. The primary domain is running on a dedicated Windows server running IIS6 and set to a static IP. Since it is a static IP and not using host headers any domain pointed to the static IP will immediately show the contents of the site, however the domain will be whatever was typed. Which could be the primary domain or an alias. Two concerns. First, is it possible that Google would penalize us for the alias domains or dilute our primary domain "juice"? Second, we need to properly track traffic from the alias domains. We could make unique content for those performing well and sell or let expire those that are sending no traffic. It's not my goal to use the alias domains to artificially pump up our primary domain. We have them for spelling errors and direct traffic. What is the best practice for handling one or both of these issues?

                                          Technical SEO | Mar 22, 2011, 4:14 PM | briankb
                                          0

                                        Get started with Moz Pro!

                                        Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                                        Start my free trial
                                        Products
                                        • Moz Pro
                                        • Moz Local
                                        • Moz API
                                        • Moz Data
                                        • STAT
                                        • Product Updates
                                        Moz Solutions
                                        • SMB Solutions
                                        • Agency Solutions
                                        • Enterprise Solutions
                                        Free SEO Tools
                                        • Domain Authority Checker
                                        • Link Explorer
                                        • Keyword Explorer
                                        • Competitive Research
                                        • Brand Authority Checker
                                        • Local Citation Checker
                                        • MozBar Extension
                                        • MozCast
                                        Resources
                                        • Blog
                                        • SEO Learning Center
                                        • Help Hub
                                        • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                                        • How-to Guides
                                        • Moz Academy
                                        • API Docs
                                        About Moz
                                        • About
                                        • Team
                                        • Careers
                                        • Contact
                                        Why Moz
                                        • Case Studies
                                        • Testimonials
                                        Get Involved
                                        • Become an Affiliate
                                        • MozCon
                                        • Webinars
                                        • Practical Marketer Series
                                        • MozPod
                                        Connect with us

                                        Contact the Help team

                                        Join our newsletter
                                        Moz logo
                                        © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                                        • Accessibility
                                        • Terms of Use
                                        • Privacy

                                        Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.