What Does ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS Mean?
ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS is an error message a browser returns when it fails to load webpage content due to a redirect loop.
A redirect loop is when a requested page redirects to another page. And the second page redirects back to the original page. This creates an endless cycle of redirects.
Eventually, the browser gives up loading the page and returns a “too many redirects” error message.
Like this:
This error is problematic for two reasons:
1. It negatively affects user experience by cutting off access to a webpage. Users could leave your site, which means lost traffic. And potential lost revenue for your business.
2. Search engine crawlers are trapped in the loop, so your pages aren’t crawled properly. And if your pages are not crawled and indexed, they won’t rank in search engines and drive traffic to your website.
In this post, we’ll explore the causes of the “too many redirects” error and how to fix it.
But first, let’s examine what this error looks like in different web browsers.
What Does the Too Many Redirects Error Look Like in Browsers?
Different browsers show the error differently.
Google Chrome
In Google Chrome, the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error will show a message in the middle of the screen: “This page isn’t working. example.com redirected you too many times.”
Like so:
(ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error in Chrome)
A button allows you to retry loading the page.
Firefox
In Firefox, you may see a message in the middle of the screen that says, “The page isn’t redirecting properly.”
Like so:
(ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error in Firefox)
And a button to try reloading the page.
Safari
In Safari, the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error message reads, “Safari Can’t Open the Page.”
Like this:
(ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error in Safari)
Unlike Chrome and Firefox, Safari doesn’t offer a button for reloading the page.
Microsoft Edge
If you’re using Microsoft Edge, you’ll see this error message: “This page isn’t working right now.”
Like this:
(ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error in Microsoft Edge)
A “Refresh” button allows you to try reloading the page.
Opera
In Opera, the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error will show this message: “This page isn’t working. example.com redirected you too many times.”
Like so:
(ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error in Opera)
What Causes the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS Error?
The ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error occurs when a browser is stuck in a loop of redirects trying to load your webpage.
This can happen for several reasons, including the following:
- Browser cookies and cache issues. Corrupted cookies and an outdated cache could cause a redirect loop that leads to the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error.
- Misconfigured redirects. If your new redirects conflict with existing ones, it can cause the error “too many redirects.”
- Issues with third-party services and plugins. Misconfigured third-party services such as content delivery networks (CDN) and the use of outdated plugins can cause “too many redirects” issues on your site.
- Incorrect HTTPS settings. A misconfigured secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate or HTTPS redirect rules can create “too many redirects” issues.
- .htaccess file misconfiguration. If the .htaccess file, which is used to configure web server settings, has a faulty variable, it can lead to the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error on your website.
How to Identify ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS Errors on Your Website
Manually identifying ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error issues on your website can be a time-consuming and tedious process.
Semrush’s Site Audit tool automatically scans your website for redirect-related issues. Like redirects chains and loops.
Start by setting up a project for your website.
Go to the Site Audit tool. Enter your URL and click “Start Audit.”
The “Site Audit Settings” window will pop up. Here, select the number of pages you want to scan. Then click “Start Site Audit.”
Once the audit is complete, navigate to the “Issues” tab and search for “redirect.” The tool will show whether your site has redirect chains and loops.
If issues exist, click on the “X redirect chains and loops” to see the specific pages triggering these issues.
You’ll see a list of URLs like this:
The “Why and how to fix it” link at the top of the report can guide you on fixing these issues.
Note: If you run a large website, schedule periodic audits to manage new redirect-related issues.
To schedule audits, click the cog icon in the top right-hand corner. Scroll down to the audit settings and click “Schedule.”
Now you can schedule weekly audits for your website.
How to Fix Too Many Redirects Errors?
The following are seven troubleshooting steps to help you fix the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error on your site.
The steps below apply to everyone, regardless of the content management system (CMS) you use.
But if your website runs on WordPress, there are some specific tips to help you solve the “too many redirects” error on your WordPress site. We’ll get into that, too.
Clear Your Browser Cache And Cookies
In some cases, the real culprit causing the “too many redirects” error might not be your website, but your browser.
Your browser could contain corrupted cookies and outdated cache. Which might trigger the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS for you specifically. But not for the users accessing your website.
To confirm whether that’s the case, try deleting the stored cache and cookies from your browser. Here’s how.
Google Chrome
1. Click the three dots at the top right-hand corner of your browser and click “Settings.”
2. In settings, select “Privacy and Security” from the sidebar and click “Clear browsing data.”
3. Set your time range to “All time,” uncheck “browsing history” and click “Clear data.”
Firefox
1. Click the menu button at the top right-hand corner of your browser and click “Settings.”
2. In settings, select “Privacy and Security” from the sidebar. Then scroll down to the “Cookies and Site Data” section, and click “Clear Data.”
3. Click “Clear.”
Clear Your WordPress Cache
Your browser isn’t the only place where outdated cache can accumulate. Sometimes, the cache stored on your WordPress site might also cause “too many redirects” issues.
The caching plugin you’ve installed for your WordPress site can help you clear your website’s cached files.
Here’s how to clear cache using two of the most popular WordPress caching plugins:
W3 Total Cache plugin
1. Go to your WP admin dashboard.
2. Navigate to “Performance,” then “Dashboard.”
3. Click “empty all caches.”
WP Super Cache plugin
1. Go to your WP admin dashboard.
2. Navigate to “Settings” and then “WP Super Cache.”
3. Scroll down and click “Delete Cache” under the “Delete Cached Pages” section to remove all cached files.
Then, refresh your webpage to see whether the error is gone. If not, keep reading.
Check Your URL Settings
Misconfigured URL settings can cause ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS errors on your WordPress website.
This happens when your WordPress website points at the wrong domain, often during a host migration or domain change.
To address, go to “Settings” and locate your “WordPress Address (URL)” and “Site Address (URL).”
Check if they match. If they don’t, modify them to point at the correct domain.
If both URLs match and the redirect error persists, check for spaces at the beginning or end of the URLs.
Check Your Plugins
Sometimes, the redirects you implement using WordPress plugins might conflict with redirects that exist at the server level.
Your plugins could also be outdated or have corrupted data.
To test whether your plugins are causing problems, disable all your plugins. Then, re-enable them one by one to see which one is causing the problem.
Go to your WP admin dashboard and select “Plugins” > “Installed plugins.”
Select all your plugins by checking the box in the top left-hand corner.
Select “Deactivate” from the “Bulk Actions” drop-down menu and click “Apply.”
Now, refresh your site.
If you don’t see the “too many redirects” error message, plugins were creating the issue.
Activate each plugin one by one. As you activate each plugin, reload your website to see which plugin caused the error.
Once you identify the faulty plugin, report the problem to the plugin support team. Or find an alternate plugin with the same functionality.
Check for SSL Certificate Issues
SSL is a protocol to establish an encrypted connection between the server and the client. SSL certificates enable you to use hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) on your website.
HTTPS encrypts and protects data transmitted between the server and the browser. So when users access your website, their data is safe from attackers.
If you don’t install an SSL certificate properly or force HTTPS on your website without installing an SSL certificate, your website could trigger the “too many redirects” error.
Use an SSL checker tool such as SSL Shopper to ensure your SSL certificate is installed properly. And there are no issues with it.
Check Third-Party Services
A content delivery network (CDN) is a web of geographically distributed servers that work together to deliver content to users faster and more efficiently.
If you use Cloudflare as your CDN and your SSL is set to Flexible, it could trigger redirect loops on your site. Flexible mode forces your site to load over a secure HTTPS version when you’re technically unable to set up an SSL certificate.
The only downside is that it can cause redirect loops.
So switch to another encryption option in Cloudflare, such as Full or Full (strict).
Sign in to your Cloudflare dashboard and select your domain.
Go to SSL/TLS.
Then, set the encryption mode to Full or Full (strict).
Disable Your .htaccess File
.htaccess is a big part of what controls page redirects. If some redirect rules are misconfigured or faulty variables are present, it could cause “too many redirects” error on your site.
You can disable your .htaccess file to confirm whether it is the culprit of the redirect error.
Here’s how to disable a .htaccess file.
1. Access the WordPress files folder by going to your hosting provider’s control panel. (We’re using Bluehost for this walkthrough.) And click “File Manager.”
2. Go to your root directory folder. The folder is usually named “public_html,” “www,” “htdocs,” or “httpdocs.”
3. Find the .htaccess file and right click on it to download it (in case you need to restore it later).
4. Right-click on the file again, click “Rename,” and rename it to “.htaccess_disabled.” This will disable the .htaccess file on your site.
5. Refresh your webpage to see whether it’s working. If it’s working, the .htaccess file caused the error.
6. Then, right-click on the .htaccess file and click “Edit.”
7. Review the current configuration. Make sure the rules are set to the default .htaccess configuration.
8. If the rules don’t match, delete the current rules and paste these default rules:
# BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
# END WordPress
9. Save your file and rename the file back to .htaccess
If misconfigurations in your .htaccess file caused the redirect error, this should solve the issue.
Identify and Fix Redirect Errors with Semrush
Redirect-related issues such as redirects chains and loops could trigger the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error.
Fixing these issues as they pop up is super important. And Semrush’s Site Audit tool checks issues with your website’s redirects.
Check out the Site Audit tool today.
