Shopify 301 Redirects Explained

When you add a URL redirect in Shopify, the storefront answers the old path with a permanent redirect to the new path. Browsers and search engines treat that as the new location, not as a temporary detour. You do not pick 302 in the Shopify redirect form. If you need a short-lived campaign URL, a redirect is the wrong tool. Use a live page.

What the shopper experiences

They request /products/old-handle. Shopify responds with the redirect and the browser requests /products/new-handle. A single hop is invisible. Two hops are usually fine. A long chain is slow, and some clients stop following. Point at the final URL.

You can see the chain for any public URL with the redirect checker. It lists each status and the last URL. It only fetches public http and https addresses.

Permanent means you should mean it

Search engines may replace the old URL with the new one in their index. Do that when the new page is the same product or the real successor. Do not permanently redirect a discontinued product to an unrelated bestseller just to avoid a 404. Shoppers notice. The 404 was more honest.

Loops

A loop is A to B and B to A, or a longer circle. The browser errors instead of showing a page. Before you save, check that the destination is not already sending people back. 404Guard refuses a loop and explains when a destination already redirects onward.

After the redirect

The old path should stop rendering the 404 template. 404Guard marks the issue Redirected when it created the redirect. New visits to that path are served by Shopify's redirect, so they are no longer 404 events. If you delete the redirect, the 404 template returns and the issue can open again.

Redirects do not rewrite links inside your theme. A menu item that still uses the old path will bounce through the redirect on every click until you edit the menu.