Why does my redirection show an error?

URL redirections ensure you don’t lose traffic or potential sales due to a moved or deleted page.

It lets you forward your web visitors to a location after moving or deleting a page by automatically taking them to the new location while trying to reach the old one.

In addition, you could use it to force all visitors to connect securely to your website via HTTPS, save your organic ranking or fix www and non-www duplicate concerns. 

Redirection loops, incompatible WordPress plugins, browser cookies, and others could cause a redirection error, like ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS.

Let’s examine what the error means, the causes, and how to fix it.

Understanding Error “Too Many Redirects”

Too Many Redirects is probably the most widely seen redirection error.

It occurs when the browser fails to establish a connection between the old location and the destination page in a redirect.

The error indicates that the website gets redirected too often, creating a long direction chain or redirecting in an infinite loop—getting redirected to a new location that redirects back to the old URL. 

Now, let’s examine what causes the redirection error and how to resolve them.

Causes of Redirection Error and How to Fix Them

Here are some of the common causes of the redirection and the quick fixes.

Cache and Cookies

Cache and browser cookies are often the first suspects when a website experiences a redirection error. So consider clearing your browser cookies and cache, and luckily, you could get this done in a few minutes.

If your WordPress website uses any site caching plugin, log in to your backend and clear the site cache.

If this step is unable to resolve the error, then proceed with step two.

URL Settings

Failing to configure your URL settings correctly can cause a redirect loop.

It’s essential your WordPress URL and Site URL match by using the same URL for the two. 

For instance, if your WordPress URL is https://www.domain.com, then the Site URL should have the URL as well—setting the Site URL to https://domain.com will cause a redirect loop.

You could troubleshoot your URL settings onto your WordPress backend, locate Settings and open the General tab.

But if you are unable to log in to your backend, follow these steps to resolve it via SPanelScala Hosting all-in-one control panel.

Step 1: Log into SPanel’s User Interface.

The default login URL is https://yourdomain.com/spanel/ (don’t forget to replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain).

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 1: Log into SPanel’s User Interface.

Step 2: Open File Manager

Go to the control panel’s FILES section and click File manager to open the home directory.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 2: Open File Manager

Locate the webroot directory of the domain with the redirection error. Please scroll to the public_html folder if it’s the root domain.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 2: Open File Manager 2

Step 3: Open the Configuration File

In your webroot directory, locate the wp-config.php file, right-click the file to reveal a menu, then select Edit.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 3: Open the Configuration File

Scroll through the file and ensure the addresses of WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL match.

But if you don’t find the WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL lines on your configuration file, then follow this step to change the address via your database using the phpMyAdmin tool.

Step 1: Log in to phpMyAdmin

Please log in to your control panel, scroll to the DATABASES section and click phpMyAdmin to access your database. 

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 1: Log in to phpMyAdmin

phpMyAdmin is an intuitive web interface that allows users to manage their MySQL databases.

Step 2: Access Your Database

On the phpMyAdmin dashboard, locate your website’s database and click to open it.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 2: Access Your Database

You could verify the database linked to your website on your wp_config.php file. The database name is on the DB_NAME line under MySQL settings.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 2: Access Your Database 2

Step 3: Open Your Database WP_Options Table

When you open your database, please scroll through the tables to find the wp_options table and double click to open it.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 3: Open Your Database WP_Options Table

Redefine the addresses if the option-values of the siteurl and home don’t match.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 3: Open Your Database WP_Options Table 2

If there’s no URL mismatch or the step doesn’t resolve the error, then proceed to troubleshoot your .htaccess file.

The .htaccess File

The .htaccess file is a server configuration file that lets users configure their server settings, including web redirects. As a server configuration file, any error on the file or corrupted .htaccess file could affect your website.

You could find if the file is responsible for the error by disabling it and then visiting the website to check if it’s working fine. 

Follow these steps to get it done.

Step 1: Locate Your .htaccess File

Log in to your control panel and click File manager to access your home directory. Next, please open your domain’s web root directory and locate the .htaccess file.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 1: Locate Your .htaccess File

Step 2: Disable the .htaccess File

You can disable your .htaccess file by renaming it to .htaccess.old. To do this, right-click the file and select Rename.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 2: Disable the .htaccess File

Now, visit the website to check if it’s working fine. 

If it doesn’t, then the .htaccess file is not the problem; reactivate it by renaming the file to its original name. But if disabling the file resolves the issue, then it means the file was corrupt.

Kindly delete it and generate a new file.

Step 3: Deleting and Generating a New .htaccess File

To delete the file, right-click it and select Delete to remove it permanently from the file manager.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 3: Deleting and Generating a New .htaccess File

And to generate a new fresh one, sign in to your WordPress backend, click Settings > Permalinks > Save Changes leaving the text boxes blank.

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 3: Deleting and Generating a New .htaccess File 2

If you wish to create the file manually via the file manager, open your web root folder, click the New File/Folders icon and select New File. 

Why does my redirection show an error?, Step 3: Deleting and Generating a New .htaccess File 3

Name the new file .htaccess and save it. 

WordPress Plugins

If the other steps fail to resolve the error, then an incompatible plugin might be the cause, and here’s how to troubleshoot your plugins.

Open your domain’s root directory and locate the wp-content folder.

Why does my redirection show an error?, WordPress Plugins

Open the folder, right-click the Plugins folder and rename to deactivate all your plugins.

Why does my redirection show an error?, WordPress Plugins 2

Visit your website to check if it’s working fine now. If yes, rename the folder to reactivate all the plugins. 

Then follow these steps to identify the plugin causing the error:

  • First, open the plugins folder and deactivate the first plugin by renaming its folder.
  • Visit your website to check if it’s working fine. If yes, then delete the plugin.
  • But if disabling the plugin fails to resolve the error, then reactivate it and disable the next one.
  • Continue with steps until you find and delete the plugin responsible for the error

Need Support?

But if disabling your plugins fails to resolve the error, then reactivate them and contact our support for quick assistance. And if you have questions relating to redirection errors, also get in touch with us.

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Rado
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Working in the web hosting industry for over 13 years, Rado has inevitably got some insight into the industry. A digital marketer by education, Rado is always putting himself in the client's shoes, trying to see what's best for THEM first. A man of the fine detail, you can often find him spending 10+ minutes wondering over a missing comma or slightly skewed design.