The two most crucial factors for the success of your WordPress sites are SEO and user experience. At a point, you may need to do tasks like A/B testing or site maintenance, which can adversely affect one or both of the above mentioned factors. Fortunately, you can avoid any kind of setbacks with temporary site redirects. The two key status codes used for this purpose are 301 and 302 redirects.
Difference between 301 and 302 redirects
Both the 301 and 302 codes serve specific purposes. For permanent page moves, you will need to apply 301, whereas for short-term events, you will have to use 302 codes. The working of both of them is the same, which is to redirect site traffic and search engines to the new link address.
The key difference here is, in 302 temporary redirects, the crawlers will consistently refer to the old URL. It means that when the old URL is reloaded, the connection gets re-established, and crawlers continue to move to the old page, as in the past.
Alternatively, for 301 WordPress redirect codes, the crawler indexes the new destination page permanently. Even the link value of the old page will get transferred to the new-established address.
In this blog, let’s discuss 302 temporary redirects in a little detail, like the reasons for when to apply or use.
Reasons to apply 302 temporary redirects
To perform A/B testing
A/B testing process helps to find, which one is the best version when two same pages with different versions get created. These tests are commonly done on WordPress landing pages.
In the process, half of the page’s traffic will be sent to page A, and others will be taken to page B. Comparison is performed in terms of conversion rates, bounce rates, and amount of time users spend on the page. A/B testing helps SEO professionals in enhancing the performance of your site. Temporary indirect basically ensures no damage to your website rankings, during the testing process.
To update the site without disruption
Website updates and maintenance keep your website operating smoothly, ensures updated SEO, and keeps the security tight. The maintenance process needs little manual involvement, so your site can be inactive for some hours during the process.
The temporary redirects allow room for site maintenance without having to compromise on user experiences. The site users will not get frustrated by the downtime, and the search crawlers will not crawl across your site until the 302 redirect is removed, and the original URL is reinstated.
To create a webpage without affecting SEO
SEO is a process that impacts web page position and website performance on the search result pages [SERPs]. As you know that your URL is accessible for the crawlers to crawl, but if there is any reason to block this activity, redirects must be put to use. It is useful, when you have to conduct website-testing or during upgrading.
Another common reason when developers use it is, for creating a new page, which is without including any negative feedback on a new page.
With WP 301 redirect plugin, setting temporary or permanent redirects is simple. Remember, the plugin does not allow for the creation of duplicate URLs.