Google: JavaScript Redirects Not A Good Idea

Jul 10, 2020 - 7:21 am 1 by

Wind Rose Google

Gary Illyes from Google said on Twitter it is probably not a good idea to use JavaScript redirects. This was specific to redirecting users based on their location to a country specific version of the page. But Google has said before that server side redirects are the best.

Here is Gary's tweet:

In 2016, John Mueller said on Google+ (trust me, there was a Google+) "JavaScript redirects: If you can’t do a server-side redirect, using JavaScript is a good fall-back. If you’re using a JavaScript framework for your site, this might also be the only option. Caching depends on the server settings, and search engines have to guess at what you’re trying to do (index under R or S?)."

In 2010, John also told people to shy away from using meta refresh-type or JavaScript redirects.

Go server side when it comes to implementing redirects.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: May 9, 2025

May 9, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Volatility, D.C. Creator Summit, Apple Safari Google Searches Drop & Google Ads AI Max

May 9, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Ads

Google Ads With Number Of Followers

May 9, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Search Country & Language Parameters

May 9, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Stops 20X More Scammy Pages With Better AI

May 9, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google AdSense

Google AdSense Auto Optimize Adds Site Level Controls

May 9, 2025 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: Google Tests Bold & Large Ad Titles In Snippets