A meta refresh or meta redirect is a type of HTTP header that instructs a web browser to automatically refresh or redirect to another page after a specified amount of time has elapsed. It is implemented by adding a “meta refresh” tag to the HTML code of a web page. The tag typically specifies a delay time in seconds and the URL of the page to which the browser should redirect.
Meta refreshes and redirects are often used as a simple and quick way to redirect visitors from one page to another. However, they can also have negative effects on user experience and search engine optimization (SEO), as they can be slow and confusing for users, and they can interfere with the proper indexing and ranking of pages by search engines. For these reasons, it is generally recommended to use server-side redirects (e.g., using the HTTP “Location” header) instead of meta refreshes or redirects whenever possible.