How to fix meta refresh on WordPress.org

Steps for WordPress.org

1. Go to Appearance → Theme File Editor and open `header.php` for your active theme. Search for `http-equiv` and delete the meta tag if found.
2. If using a child theme, check the child theme's `header.php` and `functions.php` as well.
3. Search active plugins: some SEO or caching plugins can inject meta-refresh tags — check each plugin's settings and disable the feature, or deactivate plugins to isolate the source.
4. For redirects, use the free 'Redirection' plugin to manage 301/302 redirects without touching code.
5. Clear caches (plugin cache, server cache, CDN cache) and re-test.

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.