Glossary
Redirect: the status codes and what each one costs
A redirect is an HTTP response that sends the browser somewhere else. What 301, 302, 307 and 308 actually promise, and why gc.mw defaults to 302.
By Wasim Idrishi · Updated · 2 min read
A redirect is an HTTP response that carries no page, only a status code in the 3xx range and a
Location header naming where the browser should go instead.
What each code promises
301 Moved Permanently. The resource has a new home for good. Browsers cache it aggressively — often until the cache is cleared — so a mistake is expensive to undo.
302 Found. Temporary. The browser is expected to keep asking the original URL each time, which is exactly what you want when the destination is a row in a database that a person may edit this afternoon.
307 Temporary Redirect and 308 Permanent Redirect are the strict versions of 302 and 301: they guarantee the request method survives. A POST stays a POST. That matters for APIs and form endpoints, not for a link in a bio.
Why gc.mw defaults to 302
Two reasons, both practical. The destination stays editable: change the row and the next visitor goes to the new place, no matter how many times they followed the old one. And every visit reaches us, so the click count stays true — a cached 301 is a click you never see.
The redirect path is deliberately thin. One cache read, one header write, no database call, no user-agent
parsing. Analytics are queued and processed elsewhere. We also send Referrer-Policy: no-referrer-when-downgrade and never set a cookie on a redirect, and our own parameters are stripped from
the URL before the visitor is forwarded.
Chains
Each extra hop is another round trip and another thing that can break. When a destination is added to a gc.mw link we follow its redirects up to three hops and check every hop against the reputation providers, because a clean first URL that lands somewhere else is the oldest trick in the abuse book.
Example
gc.mw/menu answers 302 to https://restaurant.example/autumn-menu. In December the row changes to
/winter-menu. The printed QR code, the sticker on the door and the link in the bio all keep working, and
no browser is holding a stale permanent answer.
Trace any chain, hop by hop, with the redirect checker.
Questions people ask
Which redirect code does gc.mw use?
302 by default, so the destination stays editable and every visit reaches us to be counted. You can set 301, 307 or 308 per link when you need a permanent or method-preserving redirect.
Is a 301 better for SEO?
For moving a page you own on a domain you own, yes — a 301 passes the signal and tells search engines to update the index. For a short link you may need to repair later, it is a liability: a browser that has cached the 301 never asks again.
Keep going
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