Have you never noticed the err_too_many_redirects message appearing on your screen? Too many redirects is actually a quite common error so it is important to know how to fix this issue.
If you are running a self-hosted WordPress website, you already know that it comes with many benefits. However, you might have noticed that it also comes with a few errors that the beginners might find particularly problematic.
When running the wpDataTables website, we also faced some common errors like the internal servers issues, the white screen of death, and some smaller issues.
These can cause you a lot of stress down the road. So it is important to take care of these problems in a timely manner. We will teach you how.
Let’s just point out that if you are using Firefox, the message will display like this:
“The page isn’t redirecting properly. Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete.” Err too many redirects is commonly known as the 310 error, but sometimes it can appear as the famous “404 page not found”.
So what does the too many redirects error mean? It indicates the browser does not know where it is supposed to go or cannot reach your site.
Table of Contents:
- What does too many redirects mean?
- WordPress too many redirects: Fix it!
- Can I change the website URL without having access to the admin area?
- Most common solutions
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- Delete Cookies on That Specific Site
- Clear Server, Proxy, and Browser Cache
- Check Third-Party Services
- Disable Plugins
- Disable The .htaccess File
- Nginx Config
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What does too many redirects mean?
The name suggests that this error means the browser has redirected you too many times. But what does it mean in practice?
Basically, the reason error too many redirects occurs is something the website to go into an infinite redirect loop. The site is stuck (such as URL 1 points to URL 2 and URL 2 points back to URL 1, or the domain has redirected too many times). Unfortunately, unlike most of the errors, too many redirects WordPress is an error that rarely solves itself and you need to know how to fix it. It’s also likely to have a negative effect on your site’s SEO, and if left too long, may need an SEO expert to fix the unintended negative effects.
WordPress too many redirects: Fix it!
The most common issue that people usually come across with err_too_many_redirects WordPress is when a user has the wrong URL in the address URL or site address URL settings.
For instance, your site’s URL is “http://www.wpdatatables.com”, and you click on “Settings”, then “General”, and set it to “http://wpdatatables.com”. Most of the web hosts will allow you to choose between having the “www” prefix in your domain name or not.
If you chose to go with the “www” prefix, typing “http://wpdatatables.com” in your WordPress settings would result in too many redirects. The same thing would happen if you opted for not having the prefix and typed “http://www.wpdatatables.com” in your settings.
This page would find itself in a redirect loop; the user would come “http://wpdatatables.com” and the server’s configuration would direct him to “http://www.wpdatatables.com”, which would redirect him back in an endless loop.
It’s also possible to get an err_too_many_redirects WordPress error if you change your permalink settings. If you don’t remember to incorporate the right 301 redirects, this could cause the same issue.
Keep in mind that if your website was working fine for a while and the too many redirects Chrome error occurred out of nowhere, you should contact your web host because the configuration issue might be at their end. With that in mind, always choose a reliable WordPress hosting provider and make sure that you create redirects correctly.
Can I change the website URL without having access to the admin area?
If too many redirects occurred, there is a way for you to solve the issue even without having access to the admin area. The setting changes we mentioned before can be updated by defining them in the wp-config.php file.
You will have to connect your website using an FTP client and find the wp-config.php file in your website’s root directory. From there, download and edit the file using a simple text editor.
Add these two lines and don’t forget to replace wpdatatables.com with your domain:
define(‘WP_HOME’,’http://wpdatatables.com’);
define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’http://wpdatatables.com’);
Apply and save changes, and upload the file back to the webserver. Once you have covered all these steps, you should be able to access your website. If your browser, for example, Safari cannot open the page because too many redirects occurred again, try adding the “www” prefix to your domain.
Most common solutions
Delete Cookies
A common solution for err_too_many_redirects Chrome and Mozilla is to clear your cookies because they can sometimes contain faulty data which results in too many HTTP redirects. You can try solving the issue this way even when you find yourself in a Google Chrome redirect loop on the website you don’t own.
Since cookies often retain certain settings and the logged in status on websites, we recommend that you delete the cookies only on the website that is having the problem rather than all cookies altogether.
Clear Server, Proxy, and Browser Cache
When trying to figure out how do you fix too many redirects, keep in mind that the redirect loops can be cached. A smart thing to do when solving the net::err_too_many_redirects would be to clear the cache on your website, the server, third-party proxy services, and even your browser if necessary.
Check Third-Party Services
The reverse-proxy services such as Cloudflare can also often result in the website redirected, especially when their Flexible SSL option is enabled and you already have an SSL certificate installed with your WordPress host.
The reason Chrome too many redirects happen, in this case, is that all requests to your hosting server are sent over HTTP. Your host server probably has a redirect in place from HTTP to HTTPS which results in WordPress err_too_many_redirects.
Disable Plugins
The outdated plugins, as well as the plugins that don’t function properly, can also cause Chrome err_too_many_redirects. Try disabling them temporarily and check if the issue is solved.
You can do this in no time by simply accessing the File Manager, locating the WP-content folder, finding the plugins folder, and rename it. You need to rename the folder in question to plugins_backup. Save the changes made and try to access your website.
If you can access the website now, it means that one or more plugins on your website were outdated. In this case, you can detect which plugin causes the error to occur by renaming them one-by-one until you locate the faulty one. Once you do that and remove the outdated plugins, don’t forget to rename your folder back to Plugins.
Disable The .htaccess File
Sometimes, .htaccess file can also cause err too many redirects in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. If this happens, you need to access the File Manager folder, select the .htaccess file, and choose the rename option. You can rename your file to anything and then save the changes.
The other option is to restore this file by taking the backup and deleting the current version. The file will be generated automatically and the site should be working properly if the .htaccess file was the issue.
Nginx Config
If your host uses Nginx, things can get a little bit tricky and the best thing to do would be to contact the host and have them check your config file. They should be able to quickly detect anything that caused that there were too many redirects.
Hey, did you know data can be beautiful too?
wpDataTables can make it that way. There’s a good reason why it’s the #1 WordPress plugin for creating responsive tables and charts.
And it’s really easy to do something like this:
- You provide the table data
- Configure and customize it
- Publish it in a post or page
And it’s not just pretty, but also practical. You can make large tables with up to millions of rows, or you can use advanced filters and search, or you can go wild and make it editable.
“Yeah, but I just like Excel too much and there’s nothing like that on websites”. Yeah, there is. You can use conditional formatting like in Excel or Google Sheets.
Did I tell you you can create charts too with your data? And that’s only a small part. There are lots of other features for you.
FAQs about the too many redirects website error
1. What does the “too many redirects” error mean on a website?
When a website’s server repeatedly leads a user’s browser to a different Address, creating an unending loop of redirects, the user receives the “too many redirects” error. The user is unable to access the desired webpage due to this problem.
2. Why am I receiving a “too many redirects” error when trying to access a specific website?
The “too many redirects” error can arise for a number of reasons, including problems with the SSL certificate for the website, improper redirect server configuration, or browser cookies that result in an endless loop of redirects.
3. How can I fix the “too many redirects” error on my website?
The website owner can attempt deleting browser cookies, verifying the server configuration for erroneous redirects, and making sure the website’s SSL certificate is valid and correctly installed in order to resolve the “too many redirects” error.
4. What are some common causes of the “too many redirects” error on a website?
The “too many redirects” error is frequently brought on by faulty redirect setup on the server, problems with SSL certificates, browser cookies that result in an endless loop of redirects, or the use of an excessive number of redirects in a chain of redirects.
5. Can a problem with my browser cause a “too many redirects” error?
True, the “too many redirection” issue can result from a problem with the browser’s cookies or cache, which can lead to an endless circle of redirects. This problem may be resolved by deleting the cookies and cache in the browser.
6. How can I tell if the “too many redirects” error is caused by a server-side or client-side issue?
If the error manifests across several platforms and browsers, a server-side problem is probably at play. The error might, however, be a client-side problem brought on by browser cookies or cache if it only occurs on a single browser or device.
7. Is it possible to bypass the “too many redirects” error and still access the website?
It is not advised to get around the “too many redirects” problem as it could jeopardize the user’s security and privacy. To ensure that users may access the website safely, the website owner should resolve the problem generating the error.
8. Can a problem with my website’s SSL certificate cause a “too many redirects” error?
True, a “too many redirection” error may result from an SSL certificate issue, particularly if the certificate is faulty or expired. The SSL certificate can be checked and updated to help fix the problem.
9. What are some troubleshooting steps I can take to resolve the “too many redirects” error?
Clearing the browser’s cookies and cache, verifying the server configuration for inadvertent redirection, upgrading the SSL certificate, and minimizing the number of redirects in a redirect chain are a few troubleshooting techniques.
10. Can a website’s redirects be optimized to prevent the “too many redirects” error from occurring?
Indeed, optimizing redirects can help prevent the “too many redirects” problem by minimizing the amount of redirects in a redirect chain and making sure they are configured properly. The quantity of redirects can also be decreased by employing HTTP 301 redirects rather than HTTP 302 redirects.
Ending thoughts on fixing the too many redirects issue
Having too many redirects is a common issue that you will probably face from time to time. So how to fix too many redirects? It all starts with detecting what caused your redirecting error. The fixes are very quick and simple once you know what needs fixing. Check out the above mention methods to find your err_too_many_redirects fix.
Using a managed WordPress site hosting can help to avoid this and other technical issues, such as WordPress stuck in maintenance mode. Websites created on managed hostings are typically configured in a couple of clicks, so problems like that do not happen in the first place; and even if something happens, the support team resolves such issues within minutes without you having to dig through web server config files.
Kinsta is one of the best WordPress managed hosting providers, between other features they backup the website daily and allow quick recovery, have pre-production staging environments, and can automate WP core and plugin updates and maintenance. It is currently used by many thousands of websites, among which there are many large ones like Intuit, Buffer, TripAdvisor, and others.
If you enjoyed reading this article on how to fix too many redirects, you should check out this one about how to fix WordPress white screen of death.
We also wrote about a few related subjects like how to fix WordPress not sending email, how to fix err_ssl_version_or_cipher_mismatch, fixing the 502 bad gateway error, fixing WordPress http error when uploading image and how to fix 504 error.
