Redirects might not be the flashiest part of your tech stack, but they’re foundational to web performance, search rankings, and user experience. In this post, we’re digging into why redirects matter — and how modern solutions like Harper help teams scale redirects quickly and simply.
If you are seeking a high-scale redirect solution, check out Harper's Open Source Redirect Component.
What Are Redirects (And Why Should You Care)?
A redirect is a server-side instruction that tells a browser or search engine, “This page has moved—go here instead.” This is crucial when URLs change due to site restructuring, re-platforming, or product updates. Redirects ensure visitors and bots can land on the right page, even when the path changes, avoiding the dreaded 404.
Without proper redirects, broken links proliferate, SEO value is lost, and user experience suffers.
When Do You Need Redirects?
Redirects come into play during:
- Replatforming — Migrating from one commerce system to another.
- URL restructuring — Changing SKU naming conventions or site architecture.
- User-friendly URLs — Making links clean and easy to read (e.g. /hot-deals instead of /12345-deal-item?id=abc123).
- Campaigns & promotions — Temporary pages that drive traffic to time-sensitive offers.
- Localization or personalization — Redirecting users to language or region-specific pages.
The Different Types of Redirects
There are three main types of redirects, and understanding the difference is vital, especially for SEO:
- 301 – Permanent Redirect: Tells search engines to forget the old URL and index the new one. Perfect for long-term changes as it transfers “link juice” to the new URL.
- 302 – Temporary Redirect: Used when content has temporarily moved (e.g. during site maintenance or promotions).
- 307 – Temporary (HTTP 1.1-compliant): Similar to 302, but preserves the request method. Browsers often use this for internal redirection.
Pro tip: Be sure to follow Google’s guidelines on 301 vs 302 to ensure you’re using the right type for your use case.
Redirects and SEO: Preserving Your Search Equity
If a well-ranked page with significant search equity is moved but not redirected properly, that SEO value is lost. A 301 redirect transfers ranking power to the new URL, letting you keep the equity you’ve built over time.
Contrary to outdated myths, 301s don’t penalize your site — unless you misuse them. Issues like redirect chains (one redirect leading to another and another) can slow things down and confuse crawlers. Tools like Ahrefs’ Site Audit or Screaming Frog can help identify redirect problems.
Scale: The Hidden Challenge of Redirects
Most brands underestimate how many redirects they have. Retailers with deep product catalogs, global reach, or long digital histories might manage tens of millions of redirects due to years of URL churn.
Traditional redirect systems often falter under this load, leading to performance degradation. Each redirect must be looked up quickly, or it adds latency that impacts your Core Web Vitals — especially Time to First Byte (TTFB) and First Contentful Paint (FCP).
Performance: Why Redirect Speed Matters
Redirects happen before your browser even starts loading a page. That means every millisecond of delay cascades through the entire page load timeline. If redirects take 100–200ms, you’re already off to a slow start.
By resolving redirects at the edge—as close to the user as possible—you eliminate round trips to the origin server. This improves performance dramatically, especially for global audiences. As Jeff Darnton put it:
“10 milliseconds here, 10 milliseconds there… pretty soon, it’s a really big gain.”
Who Should Manage Redirects?
Redirects are no longer just a developer’s job. They’re increasingly owned by marketing, SEO, and product teams, who need fast, self-serve access to manage them for campaigns and content updates.
That’s why modern systems need to offer:
- Granular access control
- Bulk tools (like CSV uploads)
- API access for automation
- UI interfaces for non-technical users
Why Use Harper for Redirects?
Harper is purpose-built for performance at the edge. It fuses database, cache, and application functions into a single technology, allowing each request to be executed in a single process, returning results in a single millisecond for redirect use cases, even at massive scale. Here’s why teams are choosing it:
- Edge-first delivery: Redirects are served from the edge, reducing overall network latency and improving Core Web Vitals.
- Massive scale: Customers manage tens of millions of redirects while still seeing p95s of 1 millisecond.
- Flexible management: Built-in REST API, CSV import support, and conditional access empower any team—not just engineering.
Whether you're cleaning up your legacy URLs or launching a time-sensitive promo, Harper delivers a fast, scalable, and marketer-friendly redirect system.
Redirects aren’t glamorous—but they are critical. Managing them correctly can preserve your SEO equity, improve web performance, and unlock new flexibility for your marketing team. If you’re still treating redirects like an afterthought, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Want to see how Harper can help you manage redirects at the edge? Learn more here.
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