Imagine you are moving from an apartment to a new house. You want people to find you, so you forward your mail, right?
A 301 redirect is the same concept when you decide to relocate your website from one URL to another. It serves two important purposes:
- The 301 status code tells the server to forward visitors trying to visit your former URL to your new URL. The server usually does this so quickly that the user can hardly notice it.
- 301 redirects make it easier for search engines to find the new location and continue providing it with user visibility.