Agent Wranglers

Redirects and canonicals Avoid

Avoid meta refresh and JavaScript redirects

Don't redirect with <meta http-equiv="refresh"> or JavaScript. Do it on the server.

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated .

How to do it

Client-side redirects are slower, can fail when scripts don't run, and give search engines a weaker signal. Use them only on hosting that cannot redirect at all. Then use an instant meta refresh with a delay of 0, which Google treats as permanent. A delayed one counts as temporary.

How to check

Search the built pages for http-equiv="refresh", location.href =, location.replace( and location.assign(. None appears.

For agents: if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in Based on the Agent Wranglers website playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/redirects-and-canonicals/client-side-redirects.