Why Am I Seeing a Redirect Loop?

A redirect loop happens when the destination page of your redirect sends the customer back to a page that triggers another redirect — creating an endless loop. ThankRedirect has built-in loop protection, but if you’re seeing a “Too many redirects” browser error, here’s how to diagnose and fix it.

ThankRedirect’s Built-In Loop Protection

ThankRedirect uses a browser cookie (wpkin_redirect_count) to track how many times it has redirected in a session. After 5 redirects, it stops redirecting to prevent an infinite loop. The cookie is secure (HTTPOnly, SameSite=Lax) and expires with the browser session.

If you see the “Too many redirects” browser error, the loop protection has hit its limit.

Common Causes

1. Redirecting to the WooCommerce Thank You Page Itself

The most common cause: your redirect destination is the same WooCommerce Thank You page that ThankRedirect is trying to redirect away from. Check your redirect URL and make sure it doesn’t point back to /checkout/order-received/.

2. Redirecting to a Page That Redirects Back

Your destination page (or something on it) is issuing its own redirect back to the checkout or Thank You page. Check the destination page for:

• Another redirect plugin configured on that page
• A theme redirect rule based on post type or page template
• A login-required redirect (if the page needs authentication but the customer is a guest)

3. Caching Plugins Caching the Redirect

Some caching plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache) can cache HTTP redirect responses. If the redirect itself gets cached, every visit to the original Thank You page URL keeps redirecting.

Add your WooCommerce Thank You page URL pattern (/checkout/order-received/) to your cache plugin’s exclusion list.

How to Fix It

Step 1: Clear Browser Cookies

First, clear your browser cookies for your store’s domain. This resets the redirect counter cookie ThankRedirect uses, so you can test again cleanly.

Step 2: Check Your Redirect Destination

Go to ThankRedirect → Settings and check the URL or page your orders are being redirected to. Open that URL in a separate browser tab — does it load normally without any redirect?

Step 3: Exclude the Thank You Page from Caching

In your caching plugin settings, add an exclusion for URLs matching /checkout/order-received/. WooCommerce typically does this automatically, but some cache configurations override it.

Step 4: Check for Plugin Conflicts

Temporarily deactivate other redirect-related plugins (checkout flow plugins, login redirect plugins, membership access plugins) and test again.

Pro tip: Always test your checkout and redirect flow after installing or updating any plugin that touches WooCommerce or page redirects. A quick test order takes 2 minutes and catches loop issues before real customers encounter them.