301 vs 302 Redirects - When to Use Each in Your .htaccess

When you add htaccess redirects to your Apache server, the number after the word "Redirect" is not just a label. It tells browsers and search engines whether a URL move is permanent or temporary, and getting that choice wrong can quietly tank your SEO or break user-facing flows. The short version: use a 301 when a page has moved for good, and a 302 when the move is short-term or conditional.

What Is an .htaccess Redirect

An .htaccess file is a per-directory configuration file that Apache reads on every request. It lets you control redirects, rewrite URLs, add security headers, set caching rules, and more, all without touching your main server configuration. Redirects inside .htaccess intercept a request for one URL and send the visitor (and any search engine crawling the page) to a different URL instead.

Apache supports two modules for redirects: the simpler mod_alias (which gives you the plain Redirect directive) and the more powerful mod_rewrite (which gives you RewriteRule ). Both can produce 301 and 302 responses. Which module you use depends on how complex the matching logic needs to be.

301 Permanent Redirect

A 301 redirect tells the browser and every search engine crawler that the original URL no longer exists and the new URL is its permanent replacement. Once a crawler sees a 301, it updates its index to point to the destination URL and transfers the original page's ranking signals (often called "link equity") to the new address. Browsers also cache 301 responses aggressively, so repeat visitors skip the redirect entirely after the first hit.

Use a 301 when:

• You rename or restructure a URL permanently (e.g., /old-product becomes /new-product ).
• You migrate a site from HTTP to HTTPS.
• You switch domains (e.g., example.com to mybrand.com ).
• You consolidate duplicate content onto a single canonical URL.
• You remove a trailing slash or enforce a consistent URL format site-wide.

302 Temporary Redirect

A 302 redirect (technically "Found" in HTTP/1.1) tells the browser that the original URL still exists but the visitor should go somewhere else for now. Search engines do not transfer ranking signals from the original URL to the destination when they see a 302. They keep indexing the original URL and treat the destination as a separate page.

Use a 302 when:

• You are running an A/B test and want to split traffic between two URLs temporarily.
• A page is under maintenance and you are pointing visitors to a holding page.
• You are doing a limited-time promotional campaign (e.g., /sale routes to /summer-sale-2025 for a few weeks).
• You want to test a new URL structure before committing to a permanent change.
• A user is being sent to a login page because they are not authenticated (the original URL should remain their destination after login).

301 vs 302 Side by Side

.htaccess Redirect Syntax and Examples

The simplest way to add a redirect in .htaccess is with the Redirect directive from mod_alias . The syntax is:

Redirect [status] [old-path] [new-URL]

A basic 301 redirect for a renamed page:

# 301 - Permanent redirect
Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page

# You can also use the keyword "permanent" instead of 301
Redirect permanent /old-page /new-page

A 302 temporary redirect:

# 302 - Temporary redirect
Redirect 302 /sale /summer-sale-2025

# Or use the keyword "temp"
Redirect temp /sale /summer-sale-2025

Redirecting an entire old domain to a new one (useful after a domain migration):

# Redirect all traffic from old domain to new domain root
Redirect 301 / https://www.newdomain.com/

Forcing HTTPS with a 301 (redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

Using Apache Rewrite Rules for Redirects

Apache rewrite rules (via mod_rewrite ) give you pattern matching with regular expressions, so you can redirect entire groups of URLs based on conditions rather than listing them one by one. The RewriteRule directive is more flexible than Redirect , but it requires enabling the rewrite engine first.

The basic structure of a rewrite-based redirect:

RewriteEngine On

# Optional condition (e.g., only apply if not already HTTPS)
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

# Rule: match any URL, redirect to HTTPS equivalent with 301
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

The flags at the end of a RewriteRule control its behavior:

• [R=301] : Issue a 301 redirect to the browser.
• [R=302] : Issue a 302 redirect.
• [L] : Stop processing further rules after this one matches.
• [R=301,L] : The most common combination for permanent redirects.

A practical example: redirect all URLs under /blog/old-category/ to /articles/ permanently:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^blog/old-category/(.*)$ /articles/$1 [R=301,L]

The $1 captures whatever comes after /old-category/ and appends it to the new path, so /blog/old-category/post-title becomes /articles/post-title . This is much cleaner than writing one Redirect line per post.

You can read the full specification for mod_rewrite in the official Apache mod_rewrite documentation . The HTTP status code definitions for 301 and 302 are specified in RFC 9110, Section 15.4 .

If you prefer to build these rules visually without memorizing directive syntax, the htaccess generator on this site lets you toggle redirect rules, set source and destination URLs, and download a ready-to-deploy .htaccess file without writing a single line manually.

Common Redirect Mistakes to Avoid

Using 302 when you mean 301. This is the most common error. Developers add a 302 "just to test" and forget to change it. Search engines keep indexing the original URL, and the new page never picks up ranking signals. If the move is permanent, use 301 from day one.

Redirect chains. A chain happens when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C. Each hop adds latency and dilutes SEO signals. Audit your redirects periodically and point A directly to C.

Redirect loops. URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects back to URL A. Apache will hit the loop limit and return a 500 error. This often happens when an HTTPS rewrite rule does not check whether HTTPS is already active ( RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off prevents this).

Forgetting the RewriteEngine On line. Every .htaccess file that uses mod_rewrite must declare RewriteEngine On . Without it, all RewriteRule and RewriteCond directives are silently ignored.

Deploying untested rules to production. A malformed redirect can take down your entire site. Always test on a staging environment first. Google's Search Console URL Inspection tool is useful for checking how Googlebot sees a redirect after you deploy.

If you work with config-like files and want to understand how structured formats compare, the post on YAML vs JSON for config files is a useful companion read for anyone managing server and application configuration together.

Build your htaccess redirects without memorizing syntax

Our .htaccess Generator lets you configure 301 and 302 redirects, rewrite rules, and security headers through a visual interface. Toggle the rules you need, set your source and destination URLs, and download a clean, ready-to-deploy .htaccess file in seconds.

Generate Your .htaccess File →