HTTP/page-Redirect

Page redirection using HTTP headers

Page redirection is part of the features that come with the http standard, I will start by showing you HOW and then explain things in detail, this way those not interested in the details need not look for the content they seek within the article.

If i was to use PHP to make a page redirect that browsers and search engines alike understand, i would use something like this

<?php
// Permanent redirection
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: http://www.easywebdns.com/tutorials/HTTP/page-Redirect");
exit();
?>

Executing the above anywhere will automatically redirect any page to this one here !

What types of redirects exist

300 multiple choices (e.g. offer different languages)
301 moved permanently
302 found (e.g. temporary redirect)
303 see other (e.g. for results of cgi-scripts)
307 temporary redirect

The ones i think you are interested in are the 301 moved permanently and 307 temporary redirect as they have special importance with search engines.

So, Should i use permanently or temporarily for search engines to like me i hear you ask

The advice is, Use the one that is suitable for the situation, ignore search engines for best results with search engines (In this case)

When a page has a new home, It is a permanent redirect (The more common), if you are reorganizing, and expect the page to make it back where it was, use temporary redirect.

Google's official blog had something to say about redirection some time ago, So, redirection and SEO can be found in the SEO section

What about images, Do they also redirect?

If you know how to make PHP serve the image, Yes they do, images can be redirected as well (When you change the image location), You would probably need to use PHP path info for example or mod_rewrite to acheive that though

As for browser, I have tested the following browsers and am sure they work with image redirection

1- Firefox 3.x

2- Epiphany 2.22.3

3- IE 6.0.26 (XP Client)