Understanding Redirects in uConnect

Overview

This article covers how redirects work behind the scenes in uConnect — the status codes involved, how wildcard patterns work, and common reasons a redirect might not behave as expected. If you're looking for how to request a redirect, read this article instead.

⚠️ Important: Redirects affect live visitor traffic. A small mistake can send users to the wrong page, create a redirect loop, or send search engines the wrong signal.

Which Status Codes Matter Most

There are many HTTP status codes, but most customer requests fall into one of these four:

Code	Name	What It Means	When to Ask for It
301	Moved Permanently	The old URL has a new long-term home	The move is final and should stay that way
302	Found / Temporary Redirect	The old URL points somewhere else for now	The original page may return later
404	Not Found	The requested page should not be available	You don't want visitors sent to a replacement page
410	Gone	The page was intentionally removed permanently	Content has been retired with no replacement

The backend can also support 303, 307, and 403 in some cases, but these are less common for customer-facing requests.

301 vs. 302: Choosing Permanent or Temporary

This is the most important decision in most redirect requests.

Ask yourself: If someone bookmarked the new destination and came back a year from now, should they still end up there?

If yes → request a 301
If not sure → request a 302
If the original page is only unavailable for a short time → request a 302

⚠️ Be careful with 301 redirects. Browsers and search engines may treat them as long-term truth. Undoing a 301 later is possible, but effects can linger since browsers cache them and search engines may take time to reprocess the old URL.

Why permanent redirects need extra care:

Browsers may cache it aggressively — some visitors may keep being redirected even after a change is reversed.
Search engines may transfer ranking signals — the old URL can lose visibility while the new one becomes the primary destination.
Fixes can take time to settle — reversing a permanent redirect isn't always immediate from an SEO perspective.

This is why our support team may ask clarifying questions before setting up a 301 redirect.

Why a Redirect Might Not Take Effect: Uploaded Files

A redirect won't work if the original file still exists at that same location. This is a common surprise for redirects involving uploaded files like PDFs, images, or other documents (as opposed to pages or posts).

Here's why: pages and posts are served through the platform itself, so a redirect rule automatically applies whenever someone requests that URL. Uploaded files work differently — they're stored as static assets, and the server finds and serves them directly from their file location without ever passing the request through the platform's routing. If the file is still sitting at that location, visitors will keep landing on it (rather than being redirected), even if the redirect rule is set up correctly on our end.

The fix: delete, move, or rename the original file. Once it's no longer at that path, requests will fall through to the platform and the redirect will take effect. It can be re-uploaded elsewhere with a new name if you still need it available. If the content is cached anywhere (page cache, CDN), a cache purge may also be needed after removal.

Rule of thumb: redirects on uploaded files (PDFs, images, etc.) only take effect once the original file is gone. This is different from redirecting a page or post URL, which works regardless of whether the old page still exists.

Wildcard Redirects for Groups of Pages

Sometimes one rule can cover many URLs. A wildcard can match a pattern instead of a single page.

Example 1 — Preserving the path:

From: audience/*
To: channel/*

This preserves the portion after the slash, so a visitor going to /audience/alumni would be sent to /channel/alumni.

Example 2 — Consolidating to one destination:

From: our-team/*
To: /staff

In this case, every page under /our-team/ goes to a single destination.

💡 Advanced behavior: Pattern-based redirects are powerful, but they can also affect more URLs than expected. If you need a wildcard redirect, include examples of both URLs that should redirect and URLs that should not.

What Can Go Wrong

Redirect loops are the most common issue. This happens when one rule sends visitors to a URL that's already affected by another redirect — sometimes sending them back again:

A redirects to B
B redirects back to A
The browser refuses to load the page

Conflicts can also happen when an older rule overlaps with a new wildcard rule. This is why Support reviews existing redirects before publishing a new one.

A redirect that "won't fire" is often not a setup error at all — as covered above, this is the expected behavior when the original file (like a PDF) still exists at its source location.

What Visitors Will Experience

Type	Visitor Experience
3XX redirect	Sent to the new location automatically
404 page	Sees a "not found" experience instead of content
410 page	Sees that the page is no longer available

In most redirect cases, the transition is seamless, and visitors won't see a special message before arriving at the new destination.

A Note on Mapped Domains

For redirect rules, the source path is usually entered as a relative path, not a full web address — meaning Support configures the path portion of the URL rather than tying the rule to one specific domain.

If your site has multiple mapped domains, a relative redirect path applies based on whichever mapped domain the visitor used. If traffic needs to be redirected from a domain that is not mapped to your site, that redirect must be configured outside the platform by your domain owner or IT team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it ever better to show an error page instead of redirecting? Yes. In some cases, a 404 or 410 response is more appropriate than sending visitors elsewhere, especially when there's no clear replacement page.

Why isn't my redirect working even though Support set it up correctly? This is almost always because the original file still exists at its source location. This applies specifically to uploaded files like PDFs and images — see "Why a Redirect Might Not Take Effect" above. Removing, moving, or renaming the original file resolves it.

Summary

Understanding the difference between 301, 302, 404, and 410 helps you request the right behavior and avoid issues with search engines, caching, and redirect loops. Keep in mind that redirects on uploaded files (like PDFs) only take effect once the original file has been removed.

Ready to request a redirect? Read this article and submit a support ticket here.