Caching Permanent Redirects

Since I’ve started using Chrome as my main browser for surfing I have noticed that some web applications seem to redirect to 404 pages. After some investigation it seems that the browser caches 301 responses (they are permanent after all) and when going to that URL again automatically redirects you.

This is a standard and correct thing to do since it saves HTTP requests but many websites/webapps haven’t used redirects and permanent redirects properly. Many return permanent redirects when redirecting after a login page or user action. I suppose many people think that it’s the better thing to do since it’s more “SEO Friendly” or somesuch.

This kind of thing looks ok when they are developing it as 301 and 302 have very similar affects on the browser, but they really mean different things.