307 Temporary Redirect: What It Is & How to Use?

When managing a website, handling HTTP status codes correctly is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimization (SEO). Among the many HTTP status codes that you might encounter, the 307 Temporary Redirect is one of the less commonly discussed but still important ones. Understanding the 307 status code is essential, especially if you’re looking to implement temporary changes to your URL structure or server. In this blog post, we’ll explore what the 307 HTTP code means, how it differs from other types of redirects, and the situations where it is most appropriate to use.

What does 307 Temporary Redirect Mean?

HTTP 307 status code is part of the HTTP/1.1 standard and indicates a temporary redirection. This status code informs the client (often a web browser) that the requested resource has been temporarily relocated to a different URL, but that future requests should continue to use the original URL. The 307 HTTP code ensures that the original request’s HTTP method and body content are preserved after redirection. This is essential for ensuring the integrity of POST requests, which can be problematic if wrongly redirected.

When Should You Use A 307 Temporary Redirect?

The 307 redirect is helpful in the following scenarios:

• Temporary Maintenance or Downtime: A 307 redirect can be used to transfer viewers to an alternate page with information about the downtime or maintenance if a website or particular page is temporarily unavailable.
• A/B Testing: You can use a 307 redirect to temporarily reroute customers to other URLs for A/B testing, allowing you to test several versions of a page without negatively impacting the search engine optimization of your site.
• Handling User-Generated Content: If you are moderating user-generated content and need to temporarily redirect to a holding page, using 307 ensures that the original request method is kept when the content becomes accessible.

How to Setup a 307 Temporary Redirect?

To set up a 307 Temporary Redirect, you need to follow these steps

Plugin

The Redirection plugin is a popular free solution for managing redirects. You can easily set up a 307 redirect using a plugin.

• Log into your WordPress dashboard. Click Plugins in the sidebar, then search for and activate redirection.
• Then, go to Tools > Redirection to access the plugin.

• Click 307 Temporary Redirect.

PHP Redirects

To set up a 307 Temporary Redirect in PHP, use the header() function to send a location header to the browser, directing it to redirect to another URL.

• To redirect, open the PHP file that you want to use.
• At the top, before any content, insert:

<?phpheader(“Location: /new-url/”, true, 307);exit;?>

• Replace /new-url/ with the desired URL.
• Save the file, then go to the original page to see how the redirect works.

Using the file.htaccess

• Go to your website’s root directory and access the. htaccess file there.
• Insert the following line into the. htaccess file:

Redirect 307 /old-page.html http://example.com/new-page.html

• Change the old URL to /old-page.html and the new URL to http://example.com/new-page.html.
• Test the redirection after saving the modifications. htaccess file.
• Save the file, then go to the original page to see how the redirect works.

Conclusion

307 Temporary Redirect is useful for web developers and administrators who must redirect traffic without changing the original request method or affecting SEO. Understanding when and how to add the redirect correctly will help you maintain a consistent user experience and ensure your site works properly during temporary changes.