Updated: August 2024
What is the Error “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” and How to Fix it?
Table of Contents
You’ve probably encountered the error “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” many times while browsing online. This is a widespread error that can happen due to various reasons. It may seem frustrating at first, but it is not that hard to fix in general.
This guide will examine what the error means, what causes it and how to fix it.
Still, redirects have many practical uses that aid website owners in improving their SEO rankings. The standard cases when you use redirects include:
- You’ve designed a new webpage meant to replace an old one. You can redirect visitors to the new page when they type the old page’s URL.
- You’ve changed the website’s URL. A redirect can ensure that visitors who access the old address will be forwarded to the new website URL.
- You can set a redirect from a non-existent address to a specific webpage so visitors wouldn’t see a “page not found” message.
When everything is in order, the visitors load the redirect’s destination page without any problem. However, when the redirect is misconfigured, their browsers may display the error “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS”.
How do different browsers display the ”’ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS”?
In the most common scenario, you type a URL, and your browser is redirected to another URL. However, the target webpage doesn’t load because the new URL is invalid, or it redirects back to the original URL. Thus, the browser ends up in a redirect loop and after a few failed attempts, it displays the error page.
Google Chrome
The page’s exact look and message vary depending on the browser. Google Chrome tells you: “This page isn’t working”. Below, you can see a screenshot from the browser.
Mozilla Firefox
In Mozilla Firefox the err_too_many_redirects error is displayed as “The page isn’t redirecting properly”.
In Safari you will see the notification – “Safari Can’t Open the Page” which indicates the redirect loop
Regardless of the exact message, the problem is the same – your browser is stuck in a redirect loop. After a certain number of attempts, it gives up and informs you of the problem which you may need to investigate further.
What are the common causes of the Error “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS”?
Although your browser produces the “too many redirects” message, it is not necessarily the source of the problem. Indeed, the cause may very well be a local browser issue, but there are other possible reasons.
In general, we can group the problems into a few categories.
- Corrupted local browser data
- Expired or corrupted cookies saved in your browser
- Expired or corrupted cached files
- Problems from proxy services such as firewalls or CDN(Content Delivery Network)
- Expired or corrupted cached data from the proxy service
- Incorrect SSL settings in the proxy service
- Setup issues on the hosting server
- A missing or misconfigured SSL certificate on the server
- Expired or corrupted cache generated by the server
- Misconfigured redirects set on the server
- Misconfigurations on the website
- Expired or corrupted cached files generated from the website
- Incorrect redirects in the website’s .htaccess file
- Specific setup problems on WordPress sites
- Misconfigured website URLs
- Redirect loops caused by WordPress plugins
What are the fixes for the general causes of the “ERR_TOO_MANY REDIRECTS” error?
As you can see from the previous section, there are several possible origins for the “too many redirects” error. Finding the source of the problem may require a few checks.
We recommend starting troubleshooting from the more general issues and gradually moving to the more specific ones.
Clear your browser cache and cookies
“ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” can be caused by expired or invalid cookies and cached files that your browser generated from previous sessions.These outdated data can cause a redirect loop on your end, while the site is available to everyone else.
Thus, clearing the browser cookies and cache may fix the issue.
Read the following articles for detailed instructions on how to clear the cookies and cache depending on your device or browser application.
- How to clear cookies and cache on desktop browsers
- How to clear cookies and cache on Android devices
- How to clear cache and cookies on iPhone
Clear your Website cache
Many CMS (content management system) applications like WordPress, Joomla or Magento generate cached files to speed up the page delivery. However, very often, the cached content may expire or become invalid.
This can result in the error “too many redirects” for visitors accessing the web pages. Therefore, clearing the cache of your website application is highly recommended every time you see this error on your website.
WordPress does have a built-in object caching mechanism, although most website administrators rely on caching plugins for easier management. Check if your WordPress website contains such plugins and clear their cache from the dashboard.
SiteGround-hosted WordPress websites have the Speed Optimizer plugin pre-installed by default. To purge its cache, open your WordPress dashboard. At the top admin bar, press the button Purge SG Cache.
In case you use an alternative plugin, check if the top admin bar has a similar button for the respective plugin. You may also consider opening the plugin section from the left-hand side menu, where the cache purging options should be available.
On another note, some themes also generate cached files, e.g., the Divi theme. For detailed instructions, read this guide on how to clear the cache in Divi.
Other CMS applications have built-in caching mechanisms. For more information on how to clear the cache for the various applications, check the following guides:
- How to clear the cache in Magento?
- How to clear the page cache in MediaWiki?
- How to enable and purge the cache on Drupal 7.x?
- How to configure the dynamic caching in Drupal 8.x?
Clear the Cache from the Server
Another source of cache is the server itself. Many hosting providers provide server-side caching to boost your website’s speed.
At times, the cache may become expired or corrupted, resulting in the “too many redirects” error.
Typically, there should be a section in your web hosting’s control panel to clear the server-side caching.
SiteGround users can check this guide on how to clear the site caches from Site Tools.
Clear the cache from a proxy firewall or Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Many websites use proxy services to improve their security and performance. Examples are the CDN from Cloudflare, the Sucuri Firewall, SiteGround CDN, etc.
They also create cached content for your website, which can become invalid and cause the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error. You should have an option to purge the cache in the service’s control panel.
SiteGround CDN users can clear the cache from the website’s Site Tools. Navigate to the Websites section in your Client Area and press Site Tools.
Open the Speed section and select CDN. To flush the cache, press the Purge cache button (brush icon).
Other CDN services must have a similar section in their control panels where the cache can be cleared. Log into your CDN’s dashboard and purge the cache from the respective section.
Inspect the SSL/TLS settings in the Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A common source of a redirect loop is the SSL/TLS settings in a CDN. SiteGround CDN is configured to work directly with your website SSL, thus there are no extra SSL settings that can cause “too many redirects”.
However, many other CDN services use an additional SSL working in combination with the SSL installed on your hosting server. This SSL usually comes with extra settings that may cause a redirect loop if it’s not configured properly.
Arguably, the most popular CDN service is Cloudflare and very often, unsuitable SSL Support settings cause too many redirects. To correct the issue, login to your Cloudflare account. Open the section Websites and select your website.
You will open the specific control panel for the particular website. Navigate to the section SSL/TLS and select the sub-section Overview where the SSL support modes are controlled.
If your website loads with HTTPS from the hosting side, set the SSL Support to Full (Strict). Flexible mode is suitable when your website loads with HTTP protocol. Having the wrong mode set will cause the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS”.
Other CDN services may have similar options for the website’s SSL. Open your CDN service’s control panel and make sure to select the correct setting.
Install an SSL certificate on the Website
A misconfigured or missing SSL certificate for your website can also cause the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error. You may have forced a redirect from HTTP to HTTPS, but since the certificate is missing, the website can’t load the page and falls into a redirect loop due to HTTPS redirects. Another possibility is that the certificate is present, but not correctly installed.
To check the SSL status, you can use an online SSL checker. One of the most popular checkers is this one.
If the SSL is missing or shows errors, install a new SSL for your website. There is usually an SSL installer tool in the control panel of most hosting providers. SiteGround users can read this guide on how to install a Let’s Encrypt SSL in Site Tools.
Examine the Redirect Loop
To get a clear idea of the redirect happening on the webpage, you can use several tools to show you the redirect chain. This way, you can track down the redirect’s destination URL that causes the error.
There are many online redirect checkers for this purpose. This redirect checker is one of the many available online that will aid you in locating the source of the too many redirects error.
Alternatively, you can use your computer’s Terminal and run commands that can display information for the redirect.
In your Terminal, run the following command.
$ curl -I -L the page addressIn our example, the page address is sg-testing.com, so the command we are running is:
$ curl -I -L sg-testing.comThe output in Terminal will be a log of the URLs that the address redirects to.
Your website will have a similar redirect chain causing the loop. Use one of the methods above to see the redirect chain on your website.
Inspect the redirects on the server
Redirects can be set on the reverse proxy server of the hosting. Such redirects are not visible in the website’s .htaccess file. Typically, they are defined in a Redirects section in your control panel.
On SiteGround hosting, you can manage redirects in Site Tools of the website. To examine the redirects, open Site Tools and navigate to the Domain section, then choose Redirects. On this page, you can see the existing redirects on your website.
In this case, sg-testing.com redirects to https://dev.sg-testing.com, but dev.sg-testing.com redirects to https://sg-testing.com.
Thus, when you try to access sg-testing.com, your browser will fall into an endless loop bouncing between the two addresses.
You may have a similar redirect causing a redirect loop on your website. To delete it, use the Delete button (Trash bin icon). Reload the website and check if the redirect error disappears.
Check the .htaccess file for the Website
Another common cause of redirects is the .htaccess file for your website. It is the file where you can add Apache directives, including redirects. You may have added a misconfigured redirect that causes a redirect loop error on your website.
Examine the file’s code in File Manager or FTP. SiteGround users can navigate to their Client Area and open the Websites section. Then open Site Tools for the site in question and click on Site. Choose File Manager and open the root folder for the website.
In Site Tools, the root folder of any website is
the website name/public_htmlIn our case, the website is sg-testing.com, so the root folder is:
sg-testing.com/public_htmlThis is the folder where .htaccess resides. Select the file and press Edit from the File Manager’s toolbar.
You will open the file in Editor mode, where you can examine the code. Look for any redirect rules as they are the likely source of the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error.
In this example, the intention was to force HTTPS for the website. However, when you use a standard redirect to forward the home page to another address on the same website, you create an infinite redirect loop.
The solution, in this case, will be to delete this redirect rule and use Rewrite instead. For detailed steps, check this guide on how to force SSL with .htaccess. Alternatively, in Site Tools, you can also use the tool Enforce HTTPS.
You may have other redirects causing the redirect loop for your website. Test deleting or commenting out the lines defining the redirects and confirm the changes with the Save button (Floppy disk icon).
How to fix the error “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” on a WordPress site?
So far, the article has examined the general solutions you can apply regardless of your website application. However, most websites are built on WordPress and there are specific setup issues that can cause the “Too many redirects” error on this application.
Thus, we will examine the common problems that can cause the redirect loop in WordPress setups and how to fix them.
How to fix “Too Many Redirects” error in WordPress – Video Guide
Check and configure the website URL in WordPress
A common problem that can cause the “too many redirects” error on WordPress websites is a mismatch between the WordPress Address and Site Address settings. This may cause your WordPress site to bounce between the two addresses, ultimately ending up in a redirect loop.
To check the URLs and correct them, you will need to log into your WordPress dashboard, then go to Settings and choose General. You will see the two fields WordPress Address and Site Address. Make sure that the URLs match in both fields.
On some occasions, the error may prevent you from logging into the dashboard. However, there are alternative methods to edit the website URLs. For detailed steps, check this tutorial about changing the WordPress URL.
Disable the Plugins in Your WordPress
A common cause of a redirect loop is a faulty plugin on your website. In general, any misconfigured plugin can cause a redirect loop. Most frequently, the cause is a plugin used for redirects, SEO optimization, or fixing insecure content.
If the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error is not affecting the backend, you can proceed by entering your dashboard. Navigate to the Plugins section and select Installed Plugins.
To locate the culprit, disable the plugins one by one by pressing the Deactivate button for the respective plugin.
When the faulty plugin is disabled, the error will cease to exist. Then, you may consider finding an alternative plugin with the same functionality or contacting the plugin’s support to report the problem.
If the error prevents you from accessing the dashboard, you will need to use an alternative method to disable the plugins. You can disable all plugins directly from the database or Site Tools’ Install and Manage tool (for SiteGround users).
Read the detailed instructions for both methods below:
The redirect loop should stop after the plugins are disabled. You can then reactivate them one by one. When the faulty one is enabled, the error will return. It may lock you out of the dashboard again, but you can disable the plugins once more to regain access. Then, you can enable all plugins apart from the offending one.
Pages with long redirect chains and SEO
The problem of too many redirects can be bad for your SEO results for several reasons:
- Google allocates a specific crawl budget to each site, the number of pages it will crawl within a given time frame. Too many redirects can quickly consume this budget, preventing Google from indexing all your important pages.
- Redirects can slow down page loading times, negatively impacting user experience and leading to higher bounce rates. Google considers page speed a ranking factor, so slower pages may rank lower in search results.
- Multiple redirects can confuse users and lead to a poor user experience. This can increase bounce rates and decrease the time users spend on your site, both of which are negative signals to Google.
- Redirect chains and loops can create technical issues on your site. Googlebot may get stuck in these loops, which prevents it from properly indexing your content.
The best practice is to check your site regularly for redirect loops, and if you use a tool like WebSite Auditor, the task becomes much easier. All you need to do is create a new project for your domain, let the tool crawl the pages, and then look through the information in the Redirects section of the Site Audit module.
Regularly auditing your site for redirect issues and fixing them promptly can help maintain a good SEO standing in Google’s eyes.
Summary
The “ERR_TOO_ MANY_REDIRECTS” error can affect any website. It’s important to know what causes it, so you can react in a timely manner before you lose traffic to your website.
This guide outlined the most common problems and the solutions for fixing the error.
For more information about redirects, read this guide on how to create URL redirects.
You may also need to create custom redirects. Check this article about redirecting one domain to another.
FAQ
Why am I experiencing the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error after making changes to my website’s SSL certificate?
Sometimes, after making changes to your website’s SSL certificate, you might encounter the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error. This happens when there are too many redirects happening, possibly due to incorrect SSL certificate settings or configuration. It’s essential to double-check your SSL certificate setup and ensure it’s properly configured to avoid excessive redirects.
What steps can I take to troubleshoot the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error when accessing a specific page on my website?
If you’re experiencing the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error on a specific page of your website, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try. First, clear your browser cache and cookies. If that doesn’t work, check if there are any redirect rules or plugins affecting that page. Also, ensure there are no conflicting settings in your website’s configuration. If the issue persists, reaching out to your website administrator or developer for assistance would be helpful.
Is it possible for a malfunctioning browser extension to cause the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error?
Absolutely! A malfunctioning browser extension can indeed contribute to the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error. Some extensions might interfere with the normal functioning of your website and cause excessive redirects. To identify if a browser extension is causing the issue, try disabling all extensions temporarily and see if the error persists. If the error goes away, you can enable the extensions one by one to pinpoint the problematic one.
How can I prevent the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error from happening when implementing URL redirects on my website?
To prevent the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error when implementing URL redirects on your website, it’s important to follow some best practices. Double-check your redirect rules to ensure they don’t create redirect loops or conflicting redirects. Also, make sure your redirect settings are properly configured and test them thoroughly before deploying them live. Regularly monitor your website’s performance and user feedback to catch any potential issues with redirects early on.
Why does the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error persist even after clearing my browser cache and cookies?
If the “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error continues to appear even after clearing your browser cache and cookies, there might be other underlying causes. It’s possible that the issue lies with the website’s configuration, such as misconfigured redirect rules or conflicting settings. Another possibility is that your internet service provider (ISP) or network setup is causing the error. In such cases, reaching out to your website administrator or seeking technical assistance would be beneficial to resolve the issue effectively.