What is URL Redirection?

A World Wide Web approach for making a web page available under many URL addresses is URL redirection, also known as URL forwarding. A page with a different URL is opened when a web browser tries to open a URL that has been redirected. Similar to domain forwarding, domain redirection occurs when all pages under a URL domain are forwarded to another domain.

A web server operation known as a URL redirect takes your URL and points it to another. For instance, if you wanted visitors to your old URL, “myvlogsite.com,” to go immediately to your new URL, “javatpoint.com.” The best approach is to redirect; anyone typing in “myvlogsite.com” in a browser would be forwarded to the new URL “javatpoint.com.” For web developers, there are many different types of redirects, including HTTP 3xx series status codes, manual redirects, JavaScript, metatag refreshes, server-side scripting, frame redirects, and more. Additionally, the URL redirect may also be referred to as domain redirection, URL forwarding, and HTTP code 3xx redirect.

There are a variety of reasons why a user’s browser may redirect them from one URL to another, including the following:

Unification of two websites
Change of the company name
To point content at a domain name that was just updated
Split-testing of landing pages for marketing experiments
To point users to recently updated material

A URL redirect can also be used illegally, such as in phishing, to harm users and their computers. It can also be used to delete web browser search results, but most search engines today are equipped to recognise these kinds of fraud attempts. The various HTTP protocol 3xx series codes are the most popular way to redirect a web page. The following are some of the characteristics shared by the members of this series:

Numerous redirect options are available at 300. for instance, the choice of additional languages.
When a site is transferred permanently, the number 301 is used to signify it. For instance, when a company’s name has changed.
A vague redirect is used with the code 302.
The CGI (common gateway interface) script output is displayed on page 303.
When a site needs to be redesigned, 307 is employed.

Also Read: What is URL?

Different types of URL Redirection

When a website visitor is forwarded to a freshly named website URL, the website address gets a new URL. Businesses frequently convert the home page of their website into a redirect page. They redirect the page and simultaneously display a notice that briefly describes the change. Behind the scenes, a meta tag is inserted into the website’s source code. Without a redirect, the website’s regular visitors will see the error message “404 – Not Found.”

There are several ways to redirect to a website, some of which we have listed below:

Also Read: How to Optimize URL Slug for SEO?

History of URL Redirection

First-level domains (TLDs) like “.to” (Tonga), “.at” (Austria), and “.is” were used by redirect services (Iceland). Making memorable URLs was their main objective. V3.com, the first widely used redirect service, boasted 4 million subscribers at its 2000 peak. The popularity of V3.com was attributable to its extensive collection of short, memorable domain names, such as “r.im,” “go.to,” “i.am,” “come.to,” and “start.at.” Early in 1999, FortuneCity.com, a sizable provider of free web hosting, purchased V3.com. [24] Use of redirection services decreased as top level domain sales prices started to drop from $50.00 per year to less than $10.00. With the introduction of TinyURL in 2002, a new category of redirection service—URL shortening—was created. Their intention was to shorten lengthy URLs so they could be posted on online forums. These short URL services have seen significant usage ever since Twitter’s 140-character limit was implemented in 2006.

URL Redirection