3xx Redirection

What are 3xx Redirection Status Codes?

3xx Redirection

Over here! The resource you're looking for has moved to a new location.

Explain Like I’m 3

ELI3

Like when you go to your friend’s old house and someone says “They don’t live here anymore! They moved over there!” and points to their new house.

 

Explain Like I’m 5

ELI5

Imagine you want to visit your friend but they moved to a new house. You go to the old address, and there’s a sign that says “We moved! Our new address is 123 New Street.” So you go there instead. That’s what 3xx codes do - they tell your browser “What you want isn’t here, but I’ll tell you where it is now!”

 

Jr. Developer

Here me out…

The 3xx class of status codes indicates that the client needs to take additional action to complete the request, usually by following a URL provided in the Location header. The most common ones are 301 (Moved Permanently) for permanent redirects that transfer SEO value, 302 (Found) for temporary redirects, 304 (Not Modified) for cache validation, and 307/308 for redirects that preserve the HTTP method.

 

Crash Course

Write this down…

The 3xx (Redirection) class of status codes indicates that further action needs to be taken by the user agent to fulfill the request. These codes are critical for SEO (301 transfers link equity), security (HTTP to HTTPS upgrades), URL management (changing site structure), and caching optimization (304 reduces bandwidth). The choice between redirect codes matters: 301/308 are permanent, 302/303/307 are temporary, and they differ in whether they preserve HTTP methods across the redirect.

 

Deep Dive

Everything and more…

The 3xx class of status codes represents redirection responses defined in RFC 9110. Each code serves a specific purpose: 300 Multiple Choices offers multiple resource representations, 301 Moved Permanently signals permanent URL changes with SEO implications, 302 Found provides temporary redirection (historically misused, leading to 303 and 307), 303 See Other redirects POST results to GET, 304 Not Modified enables conditional caching, 307 Temporary Redirect preserves methods, and 308 Permanent Redirect combines 301’s permanence with 307’s method preservation. Implementation requires understanding caching behaviors (301s may be cached indefinitely), SEO impacts (redirect chains dilute link equity), and security considerations (open redirect vulnerabilities). Modern web development heavily relies on these codes for domain migrations, HTTPS enforcement, URL canonicalization, and API versioning.

 

Status Codes in This Category

Code	Name	Description
300	Multiple Choices	Multiple options for the resource
301	Moved Permanently	Resource has permanently moved (SEO-friendly)
302	Found	Temporary redirect (historical issues with method)
303	See Other	Redirect to GET a different resource
304	Not Modified	Cached version is still valid
305	Use Proxy	Must access through a proxy (deprecated)
307	Temporary Redirect	Temporary redirect preserving HTTP method
308	Permanent Redirect	Permanent redirect preserving HTTP method

 

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