Free Redirect Checker for www and HTTPS
A redirect checker follows a URL through every redirect and shows the status code of each hop. This free checker opens the four versions of a domain, http and https with and without www, and tells you whether the site settles on one address with 301 redirects, splits between copies or breaks, with the server rule to fix it.
WWW Redirect Checker
Domain and Server
About this tool
Every domain can be reached in four ways: http://example.com, https://example.com, http://www.example.com and https://www.example.com. Search engines treat them as four different addresses. If more than one of them shows the site without redirecting, links and ranking signals get split between copies, and Google has to guess which version to show. The fix is simple: choose one version and send the other three to it with a permanent 301 or 308 redirect.
The checker follows up to three redirects per version, the way a browser would, and flags the problems we see most often in audits: a www version with no DNS record, a certificate that covers only one of the two names, temporary 302 redirects where a permanent one belongs, redirect chains that bounce through two or three addresses, and versions that answer with the page instead of redirecting. When the setup is mixed or broken, it writes the Apache and Nginx rules for the address most versions already use.
This is a domain-level check, built for the www and HTTPS question. It tests the four homepage variants, not a list of arbitrary URLs, so for a bulk redirect check after a migration paste your old URLs into the bulk URL opener and watch where each lands, or run the website audit, which reports the redirect chain of any single page. Whether you pick www or not does not matter for rankings; being consistent does. After fixing redirects, use the same version in canonical tags, the XML sitemap, internal links and your Search Console property.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a redirect is working?
Enter the domain and submit. The checker requests all four versions, follows each redirect and prints the status code and destination of every hop, so you can see whether a version answers 200, redirects with a 301 or 302, chains through several addresses, or fails with a DNS or certificate error. A working setup ends every version at one address.
Should my website use www or non-www?
Either works for SEO. What matters is choosing one and redirecting everything else to it permanently. The www version can be easier to run behind some CDNs and keeps cookies off other subdomains; the bare domain is shorter to type. Pick one, then use it in your canonical tags, sitemap, internal links and Search Console.
What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 301 (or 308) redirect says the move is permanent, so search engines move ranking signals to the new address and show that one. A 302 (or 307) says the move is temporary, so they may keep showing the old address. Redirects between the www and non-www versions of a domain should always be permanent.
What is a redirect chain and why does it matter?
A chain is a redirect that lands on another redirect before reaching the final page, for example http to https, then non-www to www. Each hop costs time and a little ranking credit, and long chains can stop crawlers following them. Point every old address straight at the final URL so each version resolves in one hop.
Why does one version show a certificate or DNS error?
The www and non-www names each need their own DNS record, and the HTTPS certificate must list both names. Many setups only cover one. Add the missing DNS record (usually a CNAME from www to the bare domain), make sure the certificate includes both names, then redirect the extra version to your chosen one.