ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS — what it means and how to fix it
A redirect sends you from address A to address B. This error means B sent you back to A (or onward in a circle) until the browser gave up. Two rules are almost always fighting: http vs https, www vs no-www, or a plugin and a server setting doing the same job twice.
The fix, in order
- Visitor: clear the site’s cookies. A stale cookie can be one half of the loop (the site redirects based on it). Clear cookies for this site in your browser settings, then reload.
- Visitor: try the other form of the address — with and without www, and let it settle on https. If one form works, the site has a redirect misconfiguration; there’s nothing more for you to fix.
- Owner on Cloudflare: check the SSL mode first. “Flexible” SSL plus a host that forces https is THE classic loop: Cloudflare fetches over http, the host redirects to https, repeat. Set SSL to Full (strict) with a valid certificate on the origin.
- Owner: audit who redirects what. Server config (.htaccess/nginx), your CMS’s URL settings, and any redirect/SSL plugin should not overlap. WordPress: the Site URL must match the address visitors land on — http/https and www mismatches loop instantly.
- Owner: test in a private window after every change, and change one rule at a time — loops are cured by removing a rule, rarely by adding another.
If it still happens
If the loop exists only for logged-in users, the fight is between the login/session layer and a cache or redirect plugin — disable the newest one first. Hosting support can read the redirect chain from server logs in a way visitors can’t.
Common questions
I’m just visiting. Can I fix it? Only the cookie step is yours. A genuine redirect loop lives in the site’s configuration — if cookies don’t cure it, the owner has to.
Why did it start right after I “secured” my site? Enabling https in two places (host + CDN, or plugin + server) creates two bosses issuing opposite orders. One redirect authority, one SSL mode (Full strict) is the stable setup.
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