How to Fix Too Many Redirects in WordPress

WordPress redirect loops are frustrating because they often lock you out of the admin panel entirely. You cannot fix the settings that caused the loop because you cannot reach the settings page.

This guide covers every known cause of ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in WordPress and how to fix each one — including when you cannot log in.

The Most Common Cause: Protocol Mismatch

The number one cause of WordPress redirect loops is a mismatch between your site URL settings and your server's SSL configuration.

WordPress stores two critical URLs in the database:

• siteurl — The URL where WordPress core files live
• home — The URL users see as your site address

If either of these uses http:// while your server forces HTTPS (or vice versa), you get a loop.

Fix via wp-config.php (When You Cannot Access Admin)

Add these lines to wp-config.php via FTP or SSH, before the /* That's all, stop editing! */ line:

define('WP_HOME', 'https://example.com');
define('WP_SITEURL', 'https://example.com');

Fix via Database (Definitive Fix)

The wp-config.php defines override the database values but do not change them. For a permanent fix, update the database directly:

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://example.com' WHERE option_name = 'siteurl';
UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://example.com' WHERE option_name = 'home';

Run this via phpMyAdmin, Adminer, or the mysql command line. After updating, you can remove the defines from wp-config.php.

Fix .htaccess Redirect Loops

WordPress uses .htaccess for permalink rewriting. Sometimes it also accumulates redirect rules from plugins, manual edits, or hosting panels.

Reset .htaccess to Default

Common .htaccess Mistakes

# PROBLEM: Forcing HTTPS when Cloudflare already handles it
# This creates a loop with Cloudflare Flexible SSL
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

# FIX: Check the forwarded protocol instead
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} =http
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

# PROBLEM: www and non-www rules that conflict
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
# ... later in the file:
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://example.com/$1 [R=301,L]

# FIX: Pick one and remove the other

Fix Cloudflare SSL Conflicts

This is the most common cause of WordPress redirect loops on Cloudflare-hosted sites.

The fix: Go to Cloudflare Dashboard > SSL/TLS > Overview and set the mode to Full or Full (Strict). Then ensure your origin server has a valid SSL certificate.

Fix Plugin Conflicts

WordPress plugins are the second most common cause of redirect loops. Multiple plugins trying to handle redirects, SSL, or caching can conflict.

Disable All Plugins (When Locked Out)

You cannot deactivate plugins from the admin panel if you cannot reach it. Do it via the filesystem:

Known Plugin Culprits

Fix WordPress Multisite Issues

WordPress Multisite has additional redirect complexity:

// wp-config.php — Ensure these are set correctly for Multisite
define('DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'example.com');
define('PATH_CURRENT_SITE', '/');

// If using HTTPS across the network
define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);

// Force the correct protocol
if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO']) && $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO'] === 'https') {
    $_SERVER['HTTPS'] = 'on';
}

For subdirectory-based Multisite installations, check that the .htaccess rewrite rules match the Multisite format, not the single-site format. WordPress generates different rewrite rules for Multisite.

Fix Reverse Proxy / Load Balancer Issues

If WordPress sits behind a reverse proxy (Nginx as a proxy, AWS ELB, Google Cloud Load Balancer), the proxy terminates SSL and forwards HTTP to WordPress. WordPress sees HTTP, redirects to HTTPS, and the loop begins.

Add this to wp-config.php:

// Tell WordPress to trust the forwarded protocol header
if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO']) && $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO'] === 'https') {
    $_SERVER['HTTPS'] = 'on';
}

Place this above the require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php'; line.

Clear All Caches After Fixing

After resolving the redirect loop, clear every cache layer:

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Check siteurl, check home, check Cloudflare SSL mode. That covers 90% of WordPress redirect loops.