HTTP 302 Found

What It Means

The HTTP 302 Found status code indicates that the requested resource temporarily resides at a different URL. Unlike 301, the client should continue using the original URL for future requests.

When to Use 302

A/B testing: Redirecting users to different page variants
Maintenance pages: Temporarily showing a maintenance page
Geolocation: Redirecting based on user location
Login redirects: Sending users to login before accessing content
Cart/checkout: Redirecting after adding to cart

Example Response

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://example.com/temporary-page
Cache-Control: no-cache

<html>
<body>
  Redirecting to
  <a href="https://example.com/temporary-page">here</a>...
</body>
</html>

302 vs 301: Key Differences

Aspect	301	302
Duration	Permanent	Temporary
Browser caching	Cached indefinitely	Not cached by default
SEO value	Transferred to new URL	Stays with original URL
Search indexing	New URL indexed	Original URL stays indexed

302 vs 307

302 may change POST to GET during redirect (historical browser behavior).

307 preserves the HTTP method. If you need to redirect a POST and maintain the method, use 307.

Implementation Examples

Express.js

app.get('/promo', (req, res) => {
  res.redirect(302, '/current-sale');
});

Python Flask

from flask import redirect

@app.route('/promo')
def promo():
    return redirect('/current-sale', code=302)

PHP

header('Location: /current-sale', true, 302);
exit;

Common Mistakes

Using 302 for permanent moves: Hurts SEO, use 301
Redirect loops: Check that target doesn't redirect back
Missing Location header: Required for all 3xx redirects