HTTP 301 Moved Permanently

HTTP 301 Moved Permanently — The resource has a new permanent URL, given in the Location header.

Class

3xx Redirection

Defined in

RFC 9110 §15.4.2

Official

Yes (IANA registry)

Cacheable by default

Yes (heuristically, per RFC 9110)

What does HTTP 301 mean?

301 Moved Permanently tells the client that the resource now lives at the URL in the Location header, and that future requests should use that new URL. Browsers cache 301s aggressively (often indefinitely), and search engines transfer the old URL's ranking signals to the new one.

For historical reasons, clients may change a POST into a GET when following a 301 (browsers do). If the method must be preserved, use 308 Permanent Redirect.

When is 301 used?

• HTTP → HTTPS and www → apex (or the reverse) canonicalisation.
• A page's URL changed after a site restructure or CMS migration.
• A domain move: old-brand.com/* → new-brand.com/*.
• Trailing-slash normalisation (/about/ → /about).

Why you're seeing 301

• The site owner deliberately moved the page or enforces a canonical URL.
• Redirect loops ("ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS") happen when two rules redirect to each other — e.g. a CDN in Flexible SSL mode requesting HTTP from an origin that redirects to HTTPS.

What to do about 301

If you're visiting the site

1. Your browser follows a 301 automatically. If you're stuck in a redirect loop, clear the site's cookies and cached data (browsers cache 301s), or try a private window.
2. Update bookmarks to the new address.

If you run the site or API (developers)

1. Redirect each old URL to its closest equivalent page, not everything to the homepage (Google treats that as a soft 404).
2. Avoid chains (A → B → C): point old URLs straight at the final destination.
3. Test before shipping — a wrong 301 is cached by browsers and hard to undo. Use 302/307 while experimenting.
4. Keep redirects in place for at least a year after a migration (ideally forever).

Sending 301: server examples

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    return 301 https://example.com$request_uri;
}

# A single moved page
location = /old-page { return 301 /new-page; }

app.get("/old-page", (req, res) => res.redirect(301, "/new-page"));

// next.config.ts — note: permanent: true sends 308, not 301
export default {
  async redirects() {
    return [{ source: "/old-page", destination: "/new-page", permanent: true }];
  },
};

// To force a literal 301 in a route handler:
export function GET() {
  return new Response(null, { status: 301, headers: { Location: "/new-page" } });
}

Example 301 response

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://example.com/new-page
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Length: 162
Cache-Control: max-age=31536000

301 vs 302 vs 307 vs 308

301 and 308 are permanent (the new URL replaces the old one, including in search results); 302 and 307 are temporary (keep using the old URL). 307 and 308 additionally forbid changing the method, so a POST stays a POST with its body. For SEO, Google treats 301 and 308 the same.

Related status codes

• 308 Permanent RedirectThe resource has a new permanent URL and the client must repeat the request with the same method and body.
• 302 FoundThe resource is temporarily at a different URL, given in the Location header.
• 307 Temporary RedirectThe resource is temporarily at another URL and the client must repeat the request with the same method and body.

Related tools

• HTTP status codes — full list
• HTTP headers reference
• cURL converter
• Mock API — fake REST endpoints with custom status codes
• Webhook tester — inspect incoming requests