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How to Fix Redirect Chains

Collapse multi-hop redirects (A→B→C) into a single hop to the final URL.

Difficulty
Medium
Impact
Medium
Time
15 min

Before

/page   301→  /page/   301→  https://site.com/page/   (3 hops)

After

/page   301→  https://site.com/page/   (1 hop to the final URL)
Before and after code for: How to Fix Redirect Chains

A redirect chain is a URL that redirects to another redirect before reaching the destination. Each hop adds latency for the visitor, and crawlers stop following after a few. Fix it by pointing the first URL straight at the final destination, so every old address resolves in a single hop.

Why it matters

A redirect chain makes the browser follow several hops before reaching the real page: slowing users, wasting crawl budget, and losing a little link equity at each step. Every redirect should point straight to the final destination.

How to fix it

  1. Map the chains

    Crawl your redirects and find any URL that redirects to another redirect.

  2. Point straight to the end

    Rewrite each rule so it 301s directly to the final URL in one hop.

  3. Update internal links

    Link to the final URL everywhere so the redirect is only a safety net for old external links.

The code

Beforetext
/page   301→  /page/   301→  https://site.com/page/   (3 hops)
Aftertext
/page   301→  https://site.com/page/   (1 hop to the final URL)

On your platform

WordPress

Audit your redirection plugin's rules and your host's www/HTTPS redirects so they combine into one hop.

Next.js

Consolidate rules in redirects() so each source maps directly to the final destination.

Sources

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