πŸ”€ Free Redirect Chain Visualizer

Redirect Chain Visualizer

Map and analyse a redirect chain step by step. Enter each hop and its status code, and the tool draws the chain, counts the hops and flags problems like long chains, redirect loops, temporary redirects and HTTP-to-HTTPS gaps. 100% in your browser β€” nothing is uploaded or stored.

ℹ️
How this works: Browsers cannot follow another site's redirects directly (cross-origin security blocks it), so this tool does not fetch live URLs. Instead, paste the hops from your browser's DevTools Network tab, a command-line tool, or a crawler, and it visualises and analyses the chain for you. Nothing you enter leaves your device.
Redirect Hops

πŸ”’ Everything runs in your browser. Your input is never uploaded, logged or stored.

The Redirect Chain Visualizer maps a sequence of redirects into a clear, readable chain and analyses it for common problems β€” long chains, redirect loops, temporary redirects used where permanent ones belong, and mixed HTTP and HTTPS hops. You enter each hop and its status code and the tool draws the path and explains what to fix, so messy redirect rules become easy to understand.

Because browsers cannot follow another website's redirects directly, this tool analyses hops you provide rather than fetching live URLs β€” paste them from your browser's developer tools or a crawler. It is part of the Link & URL Tools group in our free SEO Toolkit, alongside the URL Parser and URL Encoder / Decoder. Set your preferred address with the Canonical Tag Generator and create redirects with the .htaccess Redirect Generator, and build clean slugs with the URL Slug Generator. Everything runs in your browser β€” your input is never uploaded or stored.

∞
Hops
100%
Free Forever
0
Data Stored
99.9%
Uptime
β€” Features β€”

See and Fix Your Redirects

Turn a tangle of hops into a clear, analysed chain.

Visual Chain

Each hop is drawn in order with its status code, so the path is obvious.

Loop Detection

Spots a URL that appears twice, warning you of a redirect loop.

Smart Warnings

Flags long chains, temporary redirects and chains that do not resolve.

Clear Summary

Counts the URLs, redirects and temporary hops at a glance.

β€” How It Works β€”

Map a Chain in Four Steps

Enter the hops, then let the tool analyse them.

1

Gather the Hops

Get them from DevTools, a crawler or a command-line tool.

2

Add Each URL

Enter every URL with its status code.

3

Analyse

The tool draws the chain and checks it.

4

Fix Issues

Follow the warnings to clean up the redirects.

β€” Example β€”

A Chain, Visualised

A typical chain that could be shortened to one hop.

301http://example.com/old
↓ 301
301https://example.com/old
↓ 302
302https://example.com/new-page
↓ 200
200https://example.com/final-page

What Is a Redirect Chain?

A redirect chain is a series of redirects that a browser follows before reaching the final page. Instead of going straight from the requested URL to the destination, the request bounces through one or more intermediate URLs. Short chains are normal and often necessary, but long chains slow down page loads, waste crawl budget and can weaken the ranking signals passed to the final page. This tool helps you see and clean up those chains. It is part of the Link & URL Tools group.

Why You Enter the Hops Yourself

For security, browsers block one website from quietly following another website's redirects in the background β€” a restriction called the cross-origin policy. Because of this, a purely in-browser tool cannot fetch live URLs and trace their redirects without a server in the middle. Rather than pretend otherwise, this visualizer asks you to paste the hops, which you can read from your browser's developer tools Network tab, a crawler like Screaming Frog, or a command-line request. The tool then does the analysis locally and privately.

Redirect Status Codes

CodeMeaning
301Permanent redirect β€” passes ranking signals to the new URL
308Permanent redirect that preserves the request method
302Temporary redirect β€” the original URL is expected to return
307Temporary redirect that preserves the request method
200The final, working page

Redirect Best Practices

1️⃣

One Hop

Point the first URL directly at the final destination where you can.

♾️

Permanent Moves

Use 301 or 308 for permanent changes so signals transfer.

πŸ”’

Force HTTPS

Redirect HTTP to HTTPS once, landing on the secure URL.

πŸ”„

No Loops

Never let a chain point back to a URL it already passed through.

What This Tool Checks

  • Draws the full chain with a coloured status badge for each hop
  • Counts the URLs, redirects and temporary hops
  • Warns when a chain has too many redirects
  • Flags temporary redirects that may belong as permanent ones
  • Detects redirect loops where a URL repeats
  • Checks that the chain ends on a working 200 page

How to Use the Redirect Chain Visualizer

  1. Collect the hopsFrom DevTools, a crawler or a request tool.
  2. Enter each URL and codeAdd a row per hop in order.
  3. Analyse the chainSee the visual path and the checks.
  4. Act on the findingsShorten and fix the redirects.

Technical Notes

Web browsers enforce a cross-origin security policy that prevents a page on one domain from reading the responses, including redirect headers, of another domain without permission. Following live redirects therefore needs a server acting as a proxy. To stay fully client-side and private, this tool analyses the hops you provide instead of making network requests.

Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, enable preserve log, then load the starting URL. Each redirect appears as a request with a 3xx status and a location. You can also use a site crawler or a command-line request that shows the redirect path, then copy each URL and code into the tool.

Ideally a URL should redirect once, straight to the final destination. Two hops are usually tolerable, but three or more add noticeable latency, consume crawl budget and risk losing some ranking signal at each step. Browsers also stop following after a certain number of hops, so very long chains can fail entirely.

No. The analysis runs locally in your browser with JavaScript, and the tool never makes a network request. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged or stored, so it is safe for internal URLs, staging environments and confidential client work.

Common Use Cases

πŸ”§

Site Migrations

Check that old URLs redirect cleanly to new ones.

⚑

Speed Audits

Find and remove hops that slow down page loads.

πŸ“ˆ

SEO Cleanups

Convert temporary redirects to permanent where needed.

🐞

Debugging Loops

Trace and break redirect loops that trap visitors.

Use the Redirect Chain Visualizer with these tools from the SEO Toolkit: create redirects with the .htaccess Redirect Generator, inspect a URL with the URL Parser, convert characters with the URL Encoder / Decoder, set the canonical with the Canonical Tag Generator, build head tags with the Meta Tag Generator, and control crawling with the Robots.txt Generator.

β€” Who It's For β€”

Built for Everyone

Anyone managing redirects, migrations or site speed.

πŸ“ˆ SEO Specialists πŸ’» Web Developers 🏒 Agencies πŸ”§ Site Admins πŸš€ Site Owners πŸ›οΈ E-commerce Teams πŸ› οΈ Migration Teams πŸŽ“ Students & Learners
β€” FAQ β€”

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything about redirect chains.

It maps a sequence of redirects into a visual chain and analyses it. You enter each hop and its status code, and the tool draws the path, counts the hops and flags issues such as long chains, redirect loops, temporary redirects and chains that do not end on a working page.

Yes, completely. There is no cost, no sign-up and no limit on how many chains you analyse. The tool runs entirely in your browser, so there are no server costs and nothing to pay for.

Browsers enforce a cross-origin security policy that stops one site from reading another site's redirect responses in the background. A fully in-browser tool therefore cannot fetch live URLs without a server proxy. To stay private and client-side, this tool analyses the hops you provide.

Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab and enable preserve log, then load the starting URL. Each redirect shows as a 3xx response with a location. You can also use a crawler or a command-line request that lists the redirect path, then copy the URLs and codes in.

Yes. The analysis runs locally in your browser and the tool never makes a network request. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged or stored, which makes it safe for internal URLs, staging sites and confidential client work.

Ideally a URL redirects once, straight to its final destination. Two hops are usually acceptable, but three or more add latency, use crawl budget and can weaken ranking signals at each step. Browsers also stop after a number of hops, so very long chains may fail entirely.

A 301 is a permanent redirect that tells search engines the page has moved for good, so ranking signals should transfer to the new URL. A 302 is temporary, implying the original will return, so signals may not pass. Use 301 or 308 for permanent moves.

Yes. If a URL appears more than once in the chain you enter, the tool flags a redirect loop. Loops trap browsers and crawlers, so the warning helps you find the rule pointing back to an earlier URL and break the cycle.

Yes. If the chain mixes HTTP and HTTPS, the tool notes it. A single HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect is good practice, but the chain should settle on the secure HTTPS URL and avoid bouncing between the two, which adds unnecessary hops.

The tool includes the common ones: 301 and 308 for permanent redirects, 302, 303 and 307 for temporary redirects, 200 for the final page, and error codes like 404, 410 and 500 so you can record a chain that ends badly and see it flagged.

Yes. The visualizer is fully responsive, so you can map and analyse redirect chains from a phone or tablet. Adding hops, choosing status codes, running the analysis and reading the results all work the same as on desktop.

Visualise a Redirect Chain Now

Map your redirect hops, spot loops and long chains, and clean up your redirects β€” free, private and instant in your browser.

πŸ”€ Open the Visualizer ← All Link & URL Tools