What is a 301 redirect? How different is it from a 302 Redirect?
A 301 redirect refers to a durable redirection process that transfers traffic from one Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to another. The implementation of a 301 redirect communicates to search engines that the content has undergone a permanent relocation, thereby necessitating the replacement of the original URL with the new URL in the search results.
In the event of a URL modification on a website, a 301 redirect can be established from the previous URL to the updated one. The automated redirection of any visitors who click on the previous URL to the updated URL will be implemented.
In contrast, a 302 redirect denotes a provisional redirection from a source Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to a different destination URL. The implementation of a 302 redirect communicates to search engines that the content has undergone a temporary relocation to a new location, and therefore, the original URL ought to persist in the search results.
In the context of website testing, a temporary 302 redirect can be established from the previous URL to the updated one as a means of evaluating a new page design. The aforementioned code will effectively reroute any incoming traffic from the outdated URL to the updated URL. However, it is worth noting that search engines may still exhibit the outdated URL in their search results.
The primary distinction between a 301 and 302 redirect lies in the longevity of the redirect. The 301 redirect is a permanent redirection method that prompts search engines to replace the previous URL with the new one in their search results. The 302 redirect is a provisional redirect, whereby the previous URL will still be exhibited in the search engine results.
