Your WordPress site is live, and your audience is growing, but one error message can bring it all crashing down. No one wants to see ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS arrive as an error. This issue occurs when your browser gets caught in an infinite redirection loop and is unable to reach the intended destination.
The result is a page that refuses to load and visitors who leave in frustration. Regardless of whether you’re running a niche blog or a bustling eCommerce platform, this error can derail your success, impacting accessibility, user experience, and, ultimately, your bottom line.
We’re going to break down the root causes of ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS and guide you step-by-step to resolve it. We’ll also explore how solutions like Pressable’s managed WordPress hosting can proactively prevent such disruptions, keeping your site live and your audience engaged.
ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS might seem like a vague error message, but it’s actually your browser waving a red flag that something is wrong in how your WordPress website.
The error is called ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers.
In other browsers, it may have a different name, but it will mention something like “the page isn’t redirecting properly” which helps website owners recognize it as the same issue.
To fix it, you need to go detective mode, starting with the usual suspects:
Diagnosing redirect issues starts with understanding the sequence of redirects your WordPress site performs.
There are three main tools you can use to help with this diagnosis:
To use an online status code checker like httpstatus.io, just visit the site, paste your URL in the relevant area, and run the checker. When you get the results at the bottom, expand the relevant URL and start your diagnosis.
Using a browser requires you to open the built-in developer tools, then go to the Network tab, reload the page, and review the sequence of HTTP requests to identify where the redirect loop or misdirection begins.
Finally, you can run curl –I -L <URL> in the terminal to follow the redirects step by step and examine the sequence to pinpoint the source of the redirect issue.
Caches and cookies are designed to make web browsing faster and more frictionless. But when they store outdated or conflicting redirect data, they can become the silent culprits behind redirect issues. Clearing them often resolves the issue – not by fixing the root cause on your WordPress site, but by resetting the browser’s perspective on the problem.
Here’s how it works: cookies track your interactions with a site, including session information and preferences. If a site’s redirect logic changes – perhaps due to a plugin update or an SSL configuration tweak – but your browser still operates with old cookie data, it can trigger a redirect loop. Similarly, cached pages store earlier versions of a site for speed. When these cached versions include outdated redirect rules, they perpetuate the loop even after you’ve fixed the problem server-side.
Clearing cookies removes stored session data that might send your browser on a misdirected path. Flushing the cache forces your browser to fetch the latest version of the site from the server, bypassing the flawed stored rules.
While clearing caches and cookies is a quick fix for users, it’s also a helpful troubleshooting step for site owners. If the redirect issue is resolved after clearing them, it signals that your server changes might not be propagating properly, hinting at broader caching or configuration problems that need to be addressed.
Whenever you encounter a redirect error, the first thing you should do is check whether it’s a browser-side issue. Try accessing the site in incognito or private browsing mode. If the error vanishes, it’s a clear sign that cached data or cookies are causing the problem.
As a fix, you should clear the affected site’s data from your browser. Here’s how to do it in Firefox:
1. Open the settings from the hamburger menu on the top right and go to Privacy & Security.
2. Scroll down to Cookies and Site Data then click on Manage Data.
3. From the list, find the affected site, click on it, then click on Remove Selected.
4. Save your changes, restart the browser, and try reloading the URL.
The exact steps vary between browsers, but the process is generally the same across all major ones. Either way, you can always consult your browser’s documentation for help.
If clearing browser data doesn’t solve the issue, the problem likely lies with server-side caching. Resolving redirect errors at the server level is more technical, but it usually fixes the immediate issue while hardening your site against similar disruptions in the future.
Start by purging your WordPress caching plugin’s cache – for example, WP Rocket users can do this from WP Rocket > Dashboard > Clear Cache. Alternatively, hosting providers like Pressable allow you to clear the server cache directly through the control dashboard.
If you’re using a CDN, its caches can also hold outdated redirect rules. Log into your CDN’s dashboard and clear the cache to ensure fresh rules are applied globally.
To prevent future issues, implement cache-busting techniques by appending version numbers to asset URLs (e.g., style.css?v=1.2). This forces browsers and servers to load the latest files, avoiding conflicts caused by stale resources.
For a more targeted fix of the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error in WordPress, start by confirming your WordPress Address and Site Address settings under Settings > General. Both URLs should match your domain and use the correct protocol (HTTP or HTTPS). Mismatches here can cause immediate redirect loops.
Next, tackle plugin conflicts systematically:
For advanced troubleshooting, you can edit some core files, so long as you carefully create backup copies before making any changes.
Start by opening your wp-config.php via SFTP and setting your URLs explicitly:
define('WP_HOME','https://example.com');
define('WP_SITEURL','https://example.com');Enable debug logging to capture errors. Add these lines to wp-config.php:
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);Check the wp-content/debug.log file for redirect clues.
The issue might be coming from your .htaccess file containing incorrect redirect rules, which you can address by replacing them with the default WordPress rules:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]When redirect errors refuse to back down, it’s time to break out the advanced tools and outsmart the loop for good.
SSL and HTTPS issues are a common cause of redirect issues, often due to conflicts between how your server and WordPress enforce secure connections.
Start by checking that your SSL certificate matches your domain name, including any wildcard certificates, and ensure all parts of the certificate chain are properly installed. Missing intermediate certificates can cause problems.
If you’re forcing HTTPS through .htaccess rules, double-check that these don’t conflict with WordPress’ own HTTPS settings. Conflicting rules can easily lead to redirect loops. To verify your SSL setup, you can use tools like OpenSSL by running the following command:
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -servername yourdomain.comYou can also check your certificate details through your hosting provider.
Make sure the HTTP and HTTPS versions of your site are set up to work well together. Use browser tools to see how each version loads. If you’re using a reverse proxy or load balancer, ensure it’s configured correctly to handle HTTPS requests without creating unnecessary redirects.
Server-level redirects and .htaccess rules are common trouble spots for redirect loops, especially if multiple rules or configurations clash.
First, identify redirect chains across .htaccess files in different directories – nested files can unintentionally create overlapping or conflicting rules.
Conflicts between server-level rewrite rules and WordPress’ permalink structure often lead to ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS. To troubleshoot, check your server logs (like Apache’s access.log and error.log) for patterns of 301 or 302 redirects looping endlessly. These logs are a goldmine for pinpointing problematic rules.
When editing .htaccess, use safeguards like this:
RewriteCond %{ENV:REDIRECT_STATUS} !200
RewriteRule ^old-page$ /new-page [L,R=301]This prevents redirects from stacking on themselves, ensuring the rule runs only once. If your redirect patterns are complex, test them thoroughly to avoid accidental loops. Clean, optimized rules keep your site accessible and redirect issues at bay.
Third-party services like CDNs and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) can add layers of complexity to your redirect setup, often introducing unintended loops.
A common issue is SSL/TLS termination misconfiguration at the CDN level, where HTTPS traffic isn’t correctly handled between the CDN and your server.
Similarly, overly aggressive WAF rules, especially those tied to URL rewriting or redirection, can trigger unnecessary redirects.
Conflicting caching layers are another frequent culprit. Server-side caching, WordPress plugins, and CDN caching can overlap, amplifying issues instead of solving them.
To troubleshoot, start by temporarily bypassing the CDN. Modify your hosts file to point your domain directly to your origin server’s IP, eliminating the CDN from the equation.
Next, review your WAF rules to identify any redirect-related configurations.
Finally, systematically disable caching layers – one at a time – and test after each change to pinpoint the problem.
Redirect errors result from misconfigurations, outdated systems, or overloaded servers. Managed WordPress hosting is built to tackle these issues head-on, keeping your site stable and error-free.
Here’s how quality hosting proactively helps:
For those who need their hosting to do more heavy lifting, managed WordPress hosting delivers advanced technical benefits designed to tackle redirect issues at the root.
Here’s how the right hosting provides assistance:
Managed hosting creates a stable, secure environment that minimizes redirect errors and saves valuable time for site owners and developers. It also delivers long-term cost savings by reducing reliance on WordPress consultants and preventing revenue loss from downtime.
Pressable’s hosting helps your site stays reliable and accessible:
Managed WordPress hosting is the ultimate solution, offering tailored infrastructure and expertise to keep your site running smoothly. In turn, Pressable stands out by combining optimized WordPress environments with powerful tools designed to prevent and resolve redirect errors.
Main features include automated updates and security measures that minimize vulnerabilities, expert support with response times under four minutes, and advanced staging capabilities to test redirect rules and configurations safely.
Add a 100% uptime guarantee backed by resilient infrastructure, and you have a hosting partner that ensures your site is fast, secure, and always accessible.
Pressable gives you a platform designed to simplify management while eliminating headaches like redirect loops. End the cycle of redirect errors – explore Pressable’s pricing plans today!
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