Free redirect tool
Trailing Slash Checker
To search engines, /page and /page/ are two different URLs. Enter either one and TrueURL checks both versions, showing whether your site redirects one to the other or serves the same page twice.
Press Enter to check
Cloudflare's edge always validates certificates, so this cannot skip the check. Certificate problems are reported in the result.
Sent with the first request, up to 16 KB. JSON bodies are sent as application/json, others as a form, unless you set a Content-Type header.
1 to 50. Browsers stop after 20.
Sites can redirect phones, crawlers and link preview bots differently.
Sent with every request in the chain.
No custom headers.
Enter a value to send this header. Header values are never saved.
Follow <meta http-equiv="refresh"> tags and Refresh headers found in HTML pages.
Follow simple, unconditional redirects such as location.href = "…" in page scripts.
Settings are remembered in this browser. Cookies, header values and the POST body are never saved.
Why the trailing slash matters
Apart from the bare domain (https://example.com and https://example.com/ are always the same), a URL with a trailing slash and one without are different addresses. If both return 200 OK with the same content, search engines have to pick one, links and analytics are split between the two, and caches store the page twice.
Neither style is better for SEO. What matters is that each page has one version, the other version redirects to it, and every internal link, canonical tag and sitemap entry uses the same one.
How to read the result
TrueURL checks the URL as entered and its counterpart, then compares where each one ends:
- One redirects to the other with a 301 or 308: ideal. The redirect is permanent and the site is consistent.
- One redirects to the other with a 302 or 307: it works, but it should be permanent.
- Both load with 200: likely duplicate content. Add a redirect, or at least a canonical tag on both pointing to the preferred version.
- One returns 404: acceptable if you never link to that version, but a redirect is friendlier to visitors who type or share it.
- Both redirect somewhere else: look at the full chains. The slash rule may be stacked on top of other redirects.
Fixing trailing slash issues
- Apache:
mod_diradds a slash to real directories with a 301 by default. For other URLs, use one rewrite rule that adds or removes the slash consistently. - Nginx: add a
return 301orrewriterule for the style you don't use, and make suretry_filesdoesn't serve both. - CMS and frameworks: WordPress follows your permalink structure and redirects the other version, while Next.js and Astro have a
trailingSlashoption. Make sure it agrees with your host or CDN. - Static hosts and CDNs: many add or remove slashes automatically for HTML files, and their behaviour can override your framework's. Test after every deployment.
After the fix, update your internal links to the preferred version so visitors don't hit the redirect at all.
Files, query strings and fragments
Files don't take a trailing slash: /style.css and /report.pdf are correct, while /report.pdf/ usually returns an error or the wrong content. Query strings and fragments come after the path, so the slash goes before them, as in /blog/?page=2. Choose one rule for pages and directories and apply it everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is a trailing slash better for SEO?
No. Google treats both styles equally. Problems only come from inconsistency: both versions loading, links that mix the two, or redirects that bounce back and forth. Pick one style, redirect the other and stick to it.
Are example.com and example.com/ different URLs?
No. For the root of a domain the slash is implied, and browsers always request /. The trailing slash only matters for paths after the domain, such as /blog versus /blog/.
Do I need a redirect if I use canonical tags?
A 301 redirect is the stronger and more reliable signal. A canonical tag is a hint that search engines usually follow, but both URLs stay crawlable and can still collect links. Use the redirect where you can and keep canonical tags as a backup.
Why does adding a slash cause a redirect loop on my site?
Usually two layers disagree: the server or CDN adds the slash and the application or CMS removes it, or the other way round. Check the URL in the Redirect Loop Checker to see which hops repeat, then make both layers follow the same rule.
Should a trailing slash redirect be a 301 or a 308?
Either. Both are permanent and search engines treat them the same. Some frameworks, such as Next.js, use 308 for trailing slash redirects by default, which is fine.
How do I find every URL with a trailing slash problem?
Check one URL of each page type here, such as an article, a category and a product, because rules usually differ by template. For a full audit, run your sitemap through the Sitemap Redirect Checker: any URL that redirects there is listed in the wrong form.