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On a shop website, when "Pay now" is clicked we perform a header redirection to the same URL, just an SSL secured https version.
In such a common scenario, should we use a permanent (301), a temporary (302) or any other status code? Somehow, neither permanent nor temporary feels right (though I guess the latter will be more appropriate).
If you are always redirecting to the SSL site, then a 301 would fit … but you might as well just change the URL you link to instead of redirecting.
A 303 See Other may be the most appropriate in this scenario.
For more information on response codes, see: http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html (or http://urivalet.com/reason-phrases/ for a summary).
To answer your question, and to allay the issues with the 303 response (that some clients don't understand it), you would be safer to stick with a 302.
