Why is my Webflow redirect not working?

Redirects that do not work as expected are one of the most common frustrations in Webflow. The issue usually comes down to one of a handful of causes — most of which are quick to fix.

Common Causes and Fixes

You Have Not Published

Redirects only take effect after you publish the site. Adding a redirect in Project Settings does not activate it on the live site until you hit Publish. This is the most common cause.

Incorrect Path Format

Paths in Webflow redirects must follow specific rules:

• They must start with a forward slash (/)

• Do not include the domain name (use /about, not yourdomain.com/about)

• Do not include trailing slashes unless the actual URL uses them

• Paths are case-sensitive — /About and /about are different

Check that both the old and new paths are entered exactly as they should be.

Conflicting Page or Collection Slug

If a page or CMS item exists at the old URL, Webflow serves that page instead of honoring the redirect. The redirect only triggers when the URL would otherwise result in a 404.

Delete or unpublish the page at the old path, or change its slug, then the redirect will take effect.

You Are Testing on the Webflow Subdomain

301 redirects configured in Project Settings only work on custom domains. If you are testing on yoursite.webflow.io, the redirects will not fire. Test on your actual published domain instead.

Browser Cache

Browsers aggressively cache 301 redirects. If you set up a redirect, tested it, then changed it, the browser may still follow the old cached redirect.

Test in an incognito or private window, clear your browser cache, or use curl in the terminal:

`curl -I https://yourdomain.com/old-path
`

This shows the actual HTTP response headers without any caching.

CMS Collection Slug Conflicts

If the old path matches a CMS collection slug pattern, Webflow's routing may intercept the request before the redirect fires. Rename the collection slug or restructure the collection to resolve the conflict.

Quick Troubleshooting Checklist

1. Did you publish after adding the redirect?
2. Are the paths formatted correctly (starting with /, no domain)?
3. Does a published page still exist at the old URL?
4. Are you testing on the custom domain, not the .webflow.io subdomain?
5. Have you cleared your browser cache?