Ultimate Guide to Website Auto Redirects

I’ll share a real-life experience with you. I built a website and deployed it on Netlify.app, but later I moved it to my own custom domain. The problem was that the old Netlify URL had already been shared in many places, and I couldn’t update it everywhere. So, I decided to simply redirect all traffic from the Netlify site to my main domain — that way, anyone using the old link would still land on the right website.

This is where I learned about URL redirects and implemented a server-side redirect for my case.
In this article, let’s quickly explore the different types of URL redirects and how they work.

Why Do We Need Redirects?

Redirects are crucial for:

• Domain Migration – moving from oldsite.com to newsite.com.

• SEO Optimization – keeping your rankings safe.

• User Experience – automatically sending users to the correct page.

• Temporary Needs – like maintenance pages or login-required redirects.

Frontend Redirects

1. HTML Meta Refresh

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5; url=https://example.com">

• Redirects after 5 seconds.

• Use 0 for immediate redirect.

Note: Not SEO-friendly — search engines see it as a slow redirect.

2. JavaScript Redirect

<script>
  setTimeout(() => {
    window.location.href = "https://example.com";
  }, 5000);
</script>

• Flexible — you can add conditions (like checking login status).

• Use window.location.replace("https://example.com") if you don’t want users to go back.

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Backend Redirects

1. Apache (.htaccess) Redirect

Redirect 301 / https://example.com
Redirect 301 /oldpage.html https://example.com/newpage.html

• 301 → Permanent (SEO-friendly).

• 302 → Temporary.

2. Nginx Redirect

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name oldsite.com;
    return 301 https://newsite.com;
}

Redirects entire domain to the new one.

3. Node.js / Express Redirect

app.get("/", (req, res) => {
  res.redirect(301, "https://example.com");
});

• Default is 302 (temporary).

• Use 301 for permanent.

Types of Redirects

Best Practices

• Prefer server-side redirects for performance + SEO.

• Always use 301 when migrating domains.

• Avoid infinite redirect loops.

• Test redirects with tools (Chrome DevTools → Network tab, or Redirect Checker).

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Conclusion

• Use HTML/JS redirects only for quick fixes.

• For SEO and professional use, always rely on server-side (301/302) redirects.

• Redirects, when done right, improve user experience and protect your SEO rankings.

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Key Takeaway:

• Frontend = quick but weak.

• Backend = professional, SEO-safe, and faster.

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I’ll be updating this article soon with real-world redirect examples (code + screenshots) so you can see redirects in action.

If you face any problems while configuring redirects, feel free to drop a comment below — I’ll be happy to help you out.

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