300 vs 301: Multiple Choices vs Moved Permanently
300 and 301 can look similar in logs, but they tell clients, crawlers, and API consumers different things.
| Aspect | HTTP 300 — Multiple Choices | HTTP 301 — Moved Permanently |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Multiple Choices describes how the server processed the request and what the client should do next. | The resource at the requested URL has permanently moved to the URL in the Location header. Browsers and crawlers update their records. Search engines transfer ranking signals to the destination. |
| Plain-language summary | HTTP 300 Multiple Choices indicates a redirection response outcome. | The resource has permanently moved to the URL in the Location header. Browsers and search engine crawlers update their internal records to the new URL. SEO signals (PageRank, links) are transferred to the destination. Use this only when the move is truly permanent — reversing a cached 301 is difficult. |
| When to use | HTTP 300 Multiple Choices indicates a redirection response outcome. | Use 301 for: permanent domain migrations (http→https, www→non-www, domain renames), permanent URL restructuring, consolidating duplicate URLs to a canonical. Do not use 301 for temporary campaigns, A/B tests, or login flows — use 302 or 307 for those. Use 308 if you need to preserve the HTTP method (POST stays POST) on a permanent redirect. |
| Client behavior | Client handles 300 according to redirect-codes semantics. | Browsers cache the redirect aggressively and follow it automatically, typically changing POST to GET (historical behavior). Search engine crawlers follow and pass link equity to the destination. Most HTTP clients follow redirects by default; some have a max follow depth (commonly 5–10 hops). |
| Caching behavior | See 300 caching spec. | Cached by browsers and CDNs indefinitely unless Cache-Control or Expires specifies otherwise. Once cached, clients will not hit the original URL again until cache expiry. This makes 301s easy to deploy but hard to roll back — test before shipping. |
| SEO / crawler impact | Search crawlers interpret 300 (redirect-codes) for indexation and link equity accordingly. | Search crawlers interpret 301 (redirect-codes) for indexation and link equity accordingly. |
| API / backend impact | API clients branching on 300 expect Multiple Choices semantics. | API clients branching on 301 expect Moved Permanently semantics. |
| Safe to retry? | Follow redirect, then retry original intent | Follow redirect, then retry original intent |
Common real-world scenarios
When you see HTTP 300
300 appears in production when: Resource moved to a different URI; Canonicalization or routing rule.
When you see HTTP 301
Common in access logs during site migrations, HTTPS enforcement, and URL canonicalization. Watch for: redirect chains (A→B→C — each hop adds latency and some crawlers have hop limits), redirect loops (A→B→A — will show as 301 thrashing in logs), and 301s that land on 404 (the redirect was set up but the destination does not exist).
Decision rule
Use 300 when the response should communicate multiple choices behavior; use 301 when moved permanently is the accurate protocol signal.
A frequent mistake is swapping 300 and 301 for convenience; that causes client retry bugs, incorrect cache signals, and misleading monitoring data.
Use 300 when the correct protocol signal is Multiple Choices. Use 301 when the correct signal is Moved Permanently. Returning either code for the wrong reason breaks client expectations, cache behavior, and monitoring accuracy.
FAQ
What is the biggest difference between 300 and 301?
300 communicates Multiple Choices, while 301 communicates Moved Permanently. Choosing the right one keeps clients and intermediaries predictable.
Do 300 and 301 have SEO or caching impact?
Yes. Search engines and caches interpret status classes differently. Use each code according to its semantics to avoid accidental indexing, stale responses, or crawl inefficiency.
Can APIs safely return 300 instead of 301?
Only when it matches contract semantics. API clients often branch logic by exact code, so swapping them can break retries, auth handling, or user-facing errors.
Full guides
HTTP 300 Multiple Choices — full guide · HTTP 301 Moved Permanently — full guide · All comparisons · HTTP 300 status reference · HTTP 301 status reference