Ask Is it alright to use 301 domain redirects to shorten links?

[Brajet]

For purposes that concern at most a handful of people, I have often set up HTTP 301 redirects to link to a Google Drive document. For example, instead of linking to [a Google Forms link, I had one here but it made my post get autoremoved] I would link to example.com/form, using a 301 redirect to move users to the former address.

However, when I read about HTTP 301 redirects online, I always read things like "permanently moved", "old url", "let search engines know the address was updated", etc. These don't apply to my use case: nothing was moved or changed, I just want to create a shortcut.

Right now I am in charge of a larger website (larger as in more users), and I would like to add some of these shortcuts. But first I would like to hear from someone more knowledgeable on web development: is this use case for a HTTP 301 redirect alright? Or might it cause unintended side effects?

Thanks!

 

[Anthony Joshua]

For purposes that concern at most a handful of people, I have often set up HTTP 301 redirects to link to a Google Drive document. For example, instead of linking to [a Google Forms link, I had one here but it made my post get autoremoved] I would link to example.com/form, using a 301 redirect to move users to the former address.

However, when I read about HTTP 301 redirects online, I always read things like "permanently moved", "old url", "let search engines know the address was updated", etc. These don't apply to my use case: nothing was moved or changed, I just want to create a shortcut.

Right now I am in charge of a larger website (larger as in more users), and I would like to add some of these shortcuts. But first I would like to hear from someone more knowledgeable on web development: is this use case for a HTTP 301 redirect alright? Or might it cause unintended side effects?

Thanks!

What I have to tell you on this is to be careful with using 301s for shortcuts. Technically it works, but 301s are permanent in the eyes of browsers and search engines. That means the link could get cached, and you might not be able to change it easily later. If your goal is just convenience for users and not SEO, a temporary redirect like 302 or even a small redirect page would be much more flexible. It's a small step but saves headaches later.

 

[Felix😎]

Your use of 301 redirects for shortcuts is totally fine and common. The "permanent move" part just tells browsers and search engines that the redirect is long-term, which is okay for your case. It won't cause problems unless search engines index the shortcut URLs. If you're worried about that, you could use a 302 redirect instead, which is temporary. But for most cases, your method works great without side effects.