Too many redirects: stop a website going in circles
A redirect loop happens when instructions send a visitor between addresses without reaching a final page. Your browser may report too many redirects. Conflicting rules can sit in the website, hosting platform or a proxy such as Cloudflare, so the fix needs a view of the complete route.
Before you start
- Save the starting address and the exact browser message, including whether www was present.
- Note recent domain, SSL, platform or redirect changes and who made them.
- Do not repeatedly retry a payment or sign-in journey affected by a loop.
What to do
Compare a public route carefully
Open the normal homepage in a private browser window without logging in, then follow one affected public link. If the loop occurs only in your usual browser or only after signing in, record that distinction. Do not clear all stored passwords or delete account data to make the symptom disappear.
Choose the intended destination
Write down the final address customers should reach, including HTTPS and the agreed use of www. For a renamed page, record both its old and new addresses. This gives the administrator a destination to test, rather than adding another redirect on top of rules that already conflict.
Review the rules together
Ask the website administrator to trace the redirect chain and compare relevant platform, hosting and proxy settings. If Cloudflare is involved, they should also review how its connection settings fit the origin server. Approve a specific correction with a rollback record instead of changing several panels by trial and error.
Test old and new links
After the correction, open the original address and confirm it reaches the intended final page without a loop. Repeat for the navigation link and a signed-out visitor. If sign-in was involved, have the account owner perform the agreed check privately; access links and session information should not be pasted into public testing sites.
What to check
- The administrator has a clear old-to-new address map.
- The public route ends on the expected HTTPS page.
- Any account-specific behaviour has been checked without sharing sign-in information.
Sources and further reading
Platform features can change. Check the provider’s current guidance before changing a live service.