Can I use Meta refresh?
A Meta refresh is a simple type of redirect, you can define as meta tag in the head of a html. The Meta refresh redirects an user to a new URI directly or an amount of time. But can I use meta refresh for seo and user experience?
Example:
<html>
<head>
<title>meta refresh</title>
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="1;url=http://www.redirect-checker.org/"/>
</head>
<body>
Don’t use this Meta Element.
</body>
</html>
<head>
<title>meta refresh</title>
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="1;url=http://www.redirect-checker.org/"/>
</head>
<body>
Don’t use this Meta Element.
</body>
</html>
This meta refresh means, that this html-page should redirect the use after 1 second to http://www.redirect-checker.org/.
Answer
- W3C.org has deprecated this META element. Webdevelopers should not use this tag. [W3C]
- Google strongly recommends not using meta refresh and also not using javascript redirects. John Mu (Google Webmaster Tools) [google webmaster tools forum] [google webmaster tools forum] - use normal server 301 redirects
- Meta refresh is not supported by all browsers
- Meta refresh can be confusing to users. It disrupts browser history and causes disorientation to users.
- This redirect type is slower than other redirects
- Meta refresh can pass some link juice, but in generell, don't try to use them for SEO.