Q:

301 or 302 redirect for site which will have no content for a year?

I have a domain which will not have any actual content for a year or maybe more, and I want to redirect for the time being. Should I opt for a 301 or 302 redirect? The site is for an academic research project, and the redirect will point to an associated info page on our institution's main site. My main concern lies with how any redirect might affect our Google ranking, though we do not expect a Google search to be the main means by which users actually arrive at our site.
Thanks

A:

You should use a 302, as 301 is a permanent redirect that indicates to browsers and search engines "this site has moved over here, and isn't coming back". Chrome and Firefox cache a 301 with no expiration by default, meaning users encountering one may never again see the site, even years later.
If you don't expect users to stumble across the domain, you might also consider a 503 Service Unavailable response rather than redirecting.

