6 Ways to Fix ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS

Do you often receive an ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error message while using WordPress? Well, do not panic. It may seem like a confusing and complicated issue, but with some patience and the right tools, you can quickly fix the error.

Note that depending on the browser you are using, several varying messages may be displayed on your screen as follows:

• Google chrome -‘This webpage has a direct loop problem’ or ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS
• Mozilla Firefox – ‘The page is not redirecting properly.’
• Microsoft Edge – ‘Hmmm… can’t reach this page.’
• Safari – ‘Safari can’t open the page.’

The error is an indicator that your web page is stuck in a redirect loop, making your server point to the wrong direction. When the browser tries to access the site, it gets a message instructing it to look for the original location. The page becomes inaccessible due to an endless redirect loop.

You can implement several methods to fix the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in WordPress. Here are the methods below:

Try Clearing Cookies for the Website

If you are using Google or Mozilla, it will display that you clear cookies as a recommendation for the error. It’s one of the simplest ways to get your web working again since massive data may lead to the blunder.

Cookie files contain log in status to various destinations and store lots of settings to sites that you frequently access. You should erase the treats to help solve the redirect issue. Note that deleting the cookies does not affect the sites you visit or other sessions.

You can follow these steps to clear your cookies;

1. Click on the ‘Customize and control’ button on Google Chrome, located on the top right corner of your screen, then select settings.
2. On the resulting window, scroll to the bottom of the list and click on ‘advanced.’
3. Choose ‘site settings.’
4. Click on ‘cookies.’
5. Select ‘cookies and site data.’
6. Finally, on the search ‘cookies bar,’ search for the domain in which the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS, was displayed. When it pops up, click on the trashcan to delete the errors.

Clean Proxy, Server, and Browser Cache

Clearing the store in your WordPress site is another way to fix the issue by eliminating three aspects:

Clear the Browser Cache

You can opt to start by clearing the browser cache since it’s the most straightforward process. To check if it’s the one causing the problem, follow these steps;

1. Tap on the ‘customize and control’ button
2. Select ‘new incognito window or press SHIFT+CTRL+N

In case the window opens with an error message, clear your cache by following three steps:

1. Click on the ‘Customize and control.’
2. Select ‘more tools.’
3. Tap on ‘Clear browsing data.’

Clean the Server Cache

A lot of WordPress hosts offer their tools to help you clear cache and make various tweaks on your site. It’s done from the control panel of your hosting since the error prohibits access to the console.

Clean the Proxy Cache

If you are using a reserve proxy server such as Succuri and Cloudfare, it would be wise to clear the cache.

1. To eliminate Succuri cache, enter the service console, select ‘performance’ then tap on ‘clear cache. ‘
2. On Cloudflare cache, go to the administrative support, choose ‘caching,’ and tap ‘purge everything.’

Delete WordPress Cache

If you cleared the browser cache, but the problem persists, try cleaning with WordPress cache. However, note that you will need access to the admin page. Try using the popular caching plugins such as W3 Total Cache, WP Rocket, WP Super Cache, Breeze, or Autoptimize.

Start by installing either of the listed plugins then follow the guidelines below to clear the error;

For W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache, get to your dashboard and select the later on the settings. Once the page opens, tap on ‘delete cache’ then reload it to see if it was fixed.

For Autoptimize, you will find a menu on the top bar of your dashboard; thus, get to the link and click on ‘delete cache.’

Check WordPress Website Settings

One of the prevalent causes of a redirect loop is instances of inconsistency with your WordPress URL and site address. It happens when you purchase a domain from your host, which you are then required to choose the URL address of your site. You have an option to add the ‘www’ prefix or not.

In most cases, you create the inconsistency while setting up the page on WordPress. If you specified the domain name without the ‘www’ prefix from your host, there would be a loop resulting in ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error.

To resolve the problem, go to your dashboard and tap in ‘settings’ then make changes on the site and WordPress address URLs.

If you can’t access your WordPress console, you can overwrite the settings via the wp-config.php file through the following procedure;

1. Connect to the website through the FTP client.
2. In the root directory, search wp-config.php.
3. Download the file and make changes on the two lines using a text editor program; usually indicated as define (‘WP_HOME,” http://domain.com’)
4. Once you finish editing, save and close the file, then upload it to the webserver.
5. Reopen your site to see if it works, and in case the problem persists, add ‘www’ to the code before ‘domain’ then reopen it again.

If it’s not yet resolved, the misconfiguration may be on the host’s end; thus, contact the web host to fix it.

Check HTTPS Settings

Misconfiguration of HTTPS settings can also result in the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error. The leading cause is a change from HTTPS to HTTP without a proper process or failure to complete it. You can solve the problem in three ways;

1. Don’t migrate to HTTPS without an SSL Certificate

Make sure you install the SSL certificate while making the switch to avoid a redirect loop. Therefore, to fix the issue, install a valid certification for your WordPress to work correctly. Further, run an SSL server test to check if the declarations are in order.

2. Don’t use Plug-ins for SSL

You may be tempted to quickly move your WordPress site to HTTPS using the available free SSL plugins. The plugins will give you a short term solution by automatically redirecting your website, but you may face problems in the long run. The issues are due to incompatibility and glitches that come with free SSL.

It would be wise to upgrade your WordPress using hardcoded HTTP links to avoid outsider module issues. Also, get a valid certificate and conduct a search and replace on the platform.

3. Check the HTTPS Redirects on your Server

Try to check if the redirect loop from your server to HTTPS has misconfigured before calling your host. You can fix it by;

• Redirecting HTTP to HTTPs for Nginx;

If your server runs on Nginx, you can divert traffic from HTTP to HTTPs, using the accompanying code. Therefore, find the Nginx config file then add the concurrent code to it.

• Redirecting HTTP to HTTPs for Apache;

If your web server operates on Apache, redirect traffic to HTTPS by utilizing the code on the ‘.htaccess.’ file.

• Run an HTTPS Redirect test

When you have massive numbers of redirects, you are also likely to have ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error. You can check the issue using a unique tool called a mapper test.

Deactivate Plugins

There are various plugins on your WordPress that use redirection for different purposes; thus, one may cause it. In case you upgraded or installed a new one, it may be the culprit.

To disable a plugin from your admin dashboard, follow this procedure;

On the left of your dashboard, open the Plugins tab, select ‘deactivate,’ and refresh it. You can also opt to disable all plugins if you are not sure which one causes the problem. To do this, select ‘Plugins’ on your console then tap on ‘deactivate’ on the bulk actions menu.

Refresh your page to see if it’s working efficiently then start activating each plugin at a time to see the one causing the error. Please remember to reload the site after each activation to help you note the culprit and deactivate it. Alternatively, you can post a support ticket or contact the WordPress developer and request them to fix it.

In some cases, the WordPress dashboard may not work thus, use a different process as follows;

1. Connect to your site through FTP client.
2. Find the WordPress installation directory.
3. Search for the WP_Content/plugins folder; if you want to deactivate one plugin, rename it, and refresh it to confirm if it’s working.
4. If the issue persists, rename the entire folder to deactivate all the plugins.
5. You can now try to access your dashboard; if it loads successfully, it’s an indicator that one of the Plugins was the issue.
6. Finally, on FTP, rename the Plugins folder for reactivation then test each plugin to know the one that has an issue. Keep in mind that you need to refresh the page after each activation.

Conclusion

The ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error may have frustrated you while working on WordPress, but this guide should help you the next time it occurs. Take your time and try out the above solutions, and your site should be up and running within a short time.

You can choose to start with the simplest one such as clearing cookies and cache if your browser has an error code then gradually move to other techniques. In case your WordPress site has the same problem despite trying out all solutions, you can leave a support ticket on your dashboard or contact your web host to troubleshoot the redirect loop.

Tyler Horvath

Tyler Horvath is an SEO Expert with over 15 years of experience in search engine optimization, popular blog author and WordPress SEO expert.