ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS on WordPress: Causes and How to Fix It

On this page

1. What the error means
2. Step 1: Rule out cookies and your browser
3. Step 2: Check the WordPress site URLs
4. Step 3: Check your CDN's SSL mode
5. Step 4: Remove duplicate redirect rules
6. Step 5: Check plugins and caches
7. When only the login page loops
8. How to prevent redirect loops

Instead of your website, Chrome shows "This page isn't working" and says your domain redirected you too many times, with the code ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS. Firefox calls it "The page isn't redirecting properly". It's alarming because the whole site can disappear at once, but the cause is almost always a settings conflict that can be fixed without losing any content.

What the error means

A redirect sends a browser from one address to another, for example from http to https, or from www to non-www. A redirect loop happens when two rules disagree: address A sends visitors to B, and B sends them straight back to A. The browser follows the loop a number of times, then gives up and shows the error.

The most common causes on WordPress sites:

Cause	Typical trigger
Site URL settings don't match the server's redirects	Switching to https, or between www and non-www
CDN or proxy using "Flexible" SSL	Connecting Cloudflare, then forcing https on the server
The same redirect set up in several places	A hosting "force HTTPS" switch, an SSL plugin and .htaccess rules all at once
A faulty redirect rule	A redirect plugin rule that points a page back to itself
Stale cookies or cached redirects	Loops that affect only you, or only the login page
Settings left over from a migration	Site URL still pointing to the old domain or a staging address

A different problem: if your site sends visitors to spam or gambling sites, that's malware, not a loop; see how to fix the WordPress redirect hack.

Step 1: Rule out cookies and your browser

Open the site in a private or incognito window, and on your phone using mobile data. If it loads there, the problem is on your device: clear cookies and cached data for that site only (in Chrome, through the site information icon next to the address bar), then try again.

If it fails everywhere, find the loop itself. In Chrome's developer tools (F12), open the Network tab, tick "Preserve log" and reload. You'll see the chain of 301 or 302 responses and exactly which addresses keep bouncing, for example https://example.com to http://example.com and back again. That tells you which two rules are fighting. For redirect basics, see 301 vs 302 redirects.

Step 2: Check the WordPress site URLs

WordPress stores two addresses, the WordPress Address and the Site Address, in Settings → General. Both must match your preferred version exactly: https, and either with or without www, the same way your server redirects.

If the loop stops you reaching the dashboard, a developer can set them from outside WordPress:

• Add WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL definitions to wp-config.php with the correct https address
• Or edit the siteurl and home values in the options table using phpMyAdmin

Take a backup first. After a migration, check that neither address still points to the old domain or a staging copy.

Step 3: Check your CDN's SSL mode

This is the classic cause after connecting Cloudflare. In "Flexible" mode, Cloudflare talks to visitors over https but to your hosting over plain http. If your server or WordPress then redirects http to https, Cloudflare passes that redirect back to the browser, which asks again over https, and the loop begins.

The fix is to have a valid certificate on your hosting (most hosts provide free ones) and set Cloudflare's SSL/TLS mode to "Full (strict)". Dashboard menus change over time, so check the current wording. Other proxy and firewall services have similar settings. Behind some proxies or load balancers, WordPress can't tell that a visitor arrived on https and needs a small wp-config.php setting to recognise it; your host or developer can confirm. See what a CDN is for how proxy setups work.

Step 4: Remove duplicate redirect rules

Your http-to-https and www redirects should live in one place. Common places they pile up:

• A "force HTTPS" switch in the hosting panel
• Rules in the .htaccess file, on Apache and LiteSpeed servers
• An SSL plugin, a redirect plugin or the redirect feature of an SEO plugin
• Redirect rules or page rules at the CDN

To test .htaccess, rename it temporarily (for example to .htaccess-old) using File Manager or FTP. If the site loads, a rule inside it was the culprit. Go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save to regenerate WordPress's default rules, then add back only the redirects you actually need. On Nginx servers, redirects sit in the server configuration, so ask your host.

Step 5: Check plugins and caches

If the loop started after installing or updating a plugin, that's your first suspect. Without dashboard access, rename the plugins folder inside wp-content using File Manager or FTP to switch them all off. If the site loads, rename the folder back and reactivate plugins one at a time from the Plugins screen, testing after each. Redirect, SSL, caching, security and language or country redirect plugins are the usual culprits. A single redirect rule that sends a page to an address that redirects back is enough.

Browsers and caches can remember redirects. Once you've fixed the cause, purge the caching plugin, server cache and CDN cache, then test in a fresh private window; see why changes don't show on your site for every layer to clear.

When only the login page loops

Sometimes the front of the site works, but logging in sends you back to the login page again and again, or wp-admin redirects endlessly. Common causes:

• Old login cookies: clear cookies for the site and try again
• Site URLs using www while you log in without it, or the reverse
• The login page or admin area being cached, when both should always be excluded from caching
• A security plugin that changed the login address or is blocking your IP address

How to prevent redirect loops

• Choose one version of your domain (https, with or without www) and use it everywhere
• Handle each redirect in one place only, and write down where
• Test SSL, CDN and redirect changes on a staging site first when you can
• After a migration or SSL change, test the homepage, login, a few inner pages, forms and checkout
• Use uptime monitoring so you hear about a loop before your customers do

Site stuck in a loop and you'd rather not touch server files? I fix issues like this as part of WordPress maintenance, and set up SSL and redirects correctly during WordPress migrations.