There are basically 4 major types of redirects that are in use today. When you define what you want to achieve with redirecting your website, then you will know the type of redirect to choose.

1. 301 Redirect

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that is intended to remain that way. It takes place on both the browser and server level. With this you have nothing at all to loose. This is why the 301 redirect is the most commonly used and powerful redirect.

Also, search engines recognize and index this kind of redirect. As a visitor, you may not be careful enough to observe that such form of redirect took place. Your interest may just be on the fact that you clicked on a link and a page opened. When this happens, you may not observe that the link you clicked is not the same with the link of the page that opened.

2. 302 Redirect

Unlike the 301 redirect which is permanent, the 302 redirect is a temporary redirect. It should only be used when you have the intention of moving back to the old URL at some point. If, for example, you’re redesigning your site, but want to direct users to a different domain before you finish. Or if you want to A/B test two different versions of a page, before committing to a new version, then the 302 redirect is what you need. Since this form of redirect is not commonly used, you should consider carefully before delving into it. Else, you may better choose the 301 redirect.

3. Meta Refresh

There are times you click on a link and you are been greeted with a message that reads, “The original URL has moved, you’re now being redirected. Click here if you’re not redirected in 5 seconds”. This is exactly how the Meta refresh is. For sure, you have had such encounters on several websites you visit. If this is the message you get, if you give 5 seconds, you will be redirected to another page. I have experienced this on several survey websites I work for. When setting up a Meta refresh, you can set the amount of time it should take for the redirect to the new page to take place.

In most cases, search engines interpret a Meta refresh in the same way as a 301 redirect. Although, this happens when you set the allotted time to zero seconds. Also, this type of redirect most times is accompanied by a high bounce rate since several users may not be able to wait for the stipulated number of seconds for the redirect to take place. This therefore results to a very poor user experience. But then, instead of considering a Meta refresh, it is better you go for a 301 redirect.

The risk of using a Meta refresh is that, your website’s credibility is at risk because several visitors may assume that it has a security issue. Also, it negatively impact SEO, if the search engines consider the redirect as mere spam. Therefore, this may result in your website or page getting deindexed.

#4 URL Frame – Masked

The URL frame is a masked redirect. In this type of redirect, your visitors will see the exact URL they typed into their browser. But in the actual sense, they’re viewing another URL. It implies that the URL frame doesn’t redirect to a specific webpage but displays a frame from it. This is mostly used by those who uses a free hosting service. Free hosting requires you to use a subdomain unless you upgrade to a premium plan. The disadvantage is this type of redirect is that same content found on two separate URLs causes duplicate content. Search engines will pick one URL over the other that might not be your preference.

Not all hosting providers allow this type of redirect. So, if you ever run into any issues when applying a URL frame redirect, contact your support for more information.
SOURCE: Infoducation