Page 9 : HTTP Error 301

HTTP Error 301 - Moved permanently

Introduction

Your Web server thinks that your URL has been permanently redirected to another URL. The client system is expected to immediately retry the alternate URL.

301 errors in the HTTP cycle

Any client (e.g. your Web browser or our CheckUpDown robot) goes through the following cycle when it communicates with the Web server:

• Obtain an IP address from the IP name of the site (the site URL without the leading 'http://'). This lookup (conversion of IP name to IP address) is provided by domain name servers (DNSs).
• Open an IP socket connection to that IP address.
• Write an HTTP data stream through that socket.
• Receive an HTTP data stream back from the Web server in response. This data stream contains status codes whose values are determined by the HTTP protocol. Parse this data stream for status codes and other useful information.

This error occurs in the final step above when the client receives an HTTP status code that it recognises as '301'.

Fixing 301 errors - general

The 301 response from the Web server should always include an alternative URL to which redirection should occured

If it does, a Web browser will immediately retry the alternative URL. So you never actually see a 301 error in a Web browser, unless perhaps you have a corrupt redirection chain e.g. URL A redirects to URL B which in turn redirects back to URL A. If your client is not a Web browser, it should behave in the same way as a Web browser i.e. immediately retry the alternative URL.

If the Web server does not return an alternative URL with the 301 response, then either the Web server sofware itself is defective or the Webmaster has not set up the URL redirection correctly.

.