301 vs 302 redirects: which should you use?

HTTP status codes tell browsers and bots how to treat a redirect. For link shorteners, the wrong choice can cache a destination you later need to change.

302 (temporary) — Nimriz default

302 Found means “go here for now.” Clients may not cache the redirect as permanent, so you can change the destination without fighting long-lived cache entries.

Use 302 when:

• you iterate on landing pages or A/B tests
• campaigns move between URLs
• you are not 100% sure the destination is final forever

Nimriz defaults to 302 for short links for this reason.

301 (permanent)

301 Moved Permanently signals a lasting move. Some clients cache 301 responses aggressively, so users may keep hitting an old destination even after you update the link.

Use 301 only when:

• you truly intend the redirect to be permanent
• you accept that caches may make quick changes harder

In Nimriz you can set 301 per link when you explicitly want that behavior.

Marketing takeaway

• Prefer 302 for campaign and growth work.
• Reserve 301 for stable, long-lived canonical moves.

Related

• Features — routing and experiments where your plan allows
• Link creation and slugs