How to fix meta refresh on Squarespace
Remove or disable the `<meta http-equiv="refresh">` tag that forces an automatic page reload, or replace any redirect use-case with a server-side redirect instead.
Steps for Squarespace
- Go to Website → Pages → select the affected page → click the gear icon (Page Settings) → Advanced → Page Header Code Injection.
- Remove any `<meta http-equiv="refresh" ...>` tag pasted there.
- Also check Settings → Advanced → Code Injection (site-wide header) for the same tag.
- For redirects, use Squarespace's URL Mapping tool: Settings → Advanced → URL Mappings. Add a line like `/ -> /new-page 301` following Squarespace's syntax.
- Save and publish, then verify via View Source that the meta-refresh is gone.
What is meta refresh?
A `<meta http-equiv="refresh">` tag in the `<head>` of a page tells the browser to automatically reload the current page — or jump to a different URL — after a set number of seconds, without the visitor doing anything. For example, `<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="10">` reloads the page every 10 seconds. WCAG Success Criterion 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable) requires that any time limit on content can be turned off, adjusted, or extended by the user — and an automatic meta-refresh gives visitors no such control.
Automatic page refreshes are disorienting and harmful for people with disabilities. Screen-reader users lose their place in the page; people with cognitive or motor disabilities may not finish reading or complete a form before the page reloads or redirects them. Failing WCAG 2.2.1 exposes your store to legal risk under accessibility laws such as the ADA (US), EAA (EU), and AODA (Canada). Search engines also flag unexpected client-side refreshes as a poor signal — a proper server-side redirect is faster and more reliable for SEO. Removing this tag improves user experience, reduces legal exposure, and can marginally improve crawl efficiency for your product pages.
See the complete Meta refresh guide for every platform and the full background.
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