Is 301 redirecting your index page to the root '/' safe to do or do you end up in an endless loop?

[David-E-Carey]

Hi I need to tidy up my home page a little, I have some links to our index.html page but I just want them to go to the root '/' so  I thought I could 301 redirect it. However is this safe to do? I'm getting duplicate page notifications in my analytic reportings tools about the home page and need a quick way to fix this issue.

Many thanks in advance

David

[MikeRoberts]

Whenever you have multiple versions of your homepage like that (e.g. www.site.com, site.com, site.com/index, www.site.com/index, and so forth),it is considered best practices to choose one, set your preferred domain (www vs non-www) in Google Webmaster Tools, and 301 redirect the duplicate homepages to the primary one you chose.

[David-E-Carey]

Thanks Mike,

Yes I've set my preference in GWMT as I know that is the best thing to do, the question was more to do with whether it could be a potential issue but I'm gathering from your reply it is likely not to be.

Cheers

David

[MikeRoberts]

Correct, 301 redirects of duplicate homepages in order to consolidate them into one should not be an issue.