HTTP 302 Found

What HTTP 302 means

HTTP 302 Found tells the client to fetch the resource from the URL in the Location header, but only this time — the original URL is still the canonical address and should be requested again in the future.

Historically browsers changed POST to GET when following a 302, which contradicted the spec. HTTP later added 307 Temporary Redirect to guarantee the method is preserved; 302 remains the pragmatic default for simple GET redirects.

Common causes of 302 responses

• A page is temporarily served from another location (maintenance, A/B test, campaign landing).
• Post-login or post-checkout flows redirecting the browser (the POST-redirect-GET pattern, where 303 is technically the precise choice).
• Geo or language-based redirects that vary per visitor.
• A misconfigured “permanent” move accidentally left as 302 for years.

Good practices for developers

• If the move is actually permanent, switch to 301/308 — long-lived 302s send mixed signals to search engines.
• Use 307 when the request method and body must be preserved, 303 to force a GET after a POST.
• Do not cache 302 responses unless you add explicit Cache-Control headers.

Example response

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://example.com/summer-sale/
Cache-Control: no-store

SEO impact

Search engines keep the original URL indexed when they see a 302, since the move is declared temporary. A 302 left in place for months is usually treated as a de-facto 301 by Google, but explicit is better: pick the code that matches your intent.

FAQ