303 See Other

What it means

303 is used after a form submission (POST) to send the browser to a result page. This is the Post/Redirect/Get pattern: refreshing the result page does not resubmit the form.

Common causes

• A form or API POST completed and points to a confirmation or result page.
• The server wants a follow-up GET instead of repeating the original method.

How to fix it

1. No fix needed when used after form submissions.
2. Use 301/308 for permanent moves and 302/307 for temporary ones instead of 303.

Example response

HTTP/1.1 303 See Other
Location: https://example.com/new-location

Worked example

A client requests an old URL and receives a redirect with a Location header. It requests the destination next, preserving or changing the HTTP method according to the specific redirect code.

How to read this response

1. Find the status line in your browser's Network panel, API client, or server access log.
2. Read the response body and headers shown above; headers such as Location, Allow, Retry-After, and WWW-Authenticate explain the next step.
3. Use the code's class to orient your diagnosis: informational, successful, redirected, request-related, or server-side.

SEO impact

303 is not meant for moving pages. Search engines treat it as a temporary redirect, so do not use it for permanent URL changes.

How to check a status code

Enter a URL in the HTTP Status Checker to see its status code, every redirect hop, and response time. For redirect-heavy pages, the Website Speed Test shows how much time redirects add.

Frequently asked questions

What it means: HTTP 303

303 See Other: The server redirects the client to a different URL, which must be fetched with GET.

Common causes: 303

A form or API POST completed and points to a confirmation or result page. The server wants a follow-up GET instead of repeating the original method.

How to fix it: HTTP 303

No fix needed when used after form submissions. Use 301/308 for permanent moves and 302/307 for temporary ones instead of 303.

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