diff --git a/apps/advanced/backend/controllers/SiteController.php b/apps/advanced/backend/controllers/SiteController.php
index 09052d2..480406a 100644
--- a/apps/advanced/backend/controllers/SiteController.php
+++ b/apps/advanced/backend/controllers/SiteController.php
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	{
 		$model = new LoginForm();
 		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->login()) {
-			return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
+			return $this->goHome();
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('login', array(
 				'model' => $model,
@@ -28,6 +28,6 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogout()
 	{
 		Yii::$app->user->logout();
-		return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
+		return $this->goHome();
 	}
 }
diff --git a/apps/advanced/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php b/apps/advanced/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php
index c4f7f53..0c1b2f5 100644
--- a/apps/advanced/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php
+++ b/apps/advanced/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	{
 		$model = new LoginForm();
 		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->login()) {
-			return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
+			return $this->goHome();
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('login', array(
 				'model' => $model,
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogout()
 	{
 		Yii::$app->user->logout();
-		return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
+		return $this->goHome();
 	}
 
 	public function actionContact()
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 		$model->setScenario('signup');
 		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->save()) {
 			if (Yii::$app->getUser()->login($model)) {
-				$this->redirect('index');
+				return $this->goHome();
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->validate()) {
 			if ($this->sendPasswordResetEmail($model->email)) {
 				Yii::$app->getSession()->setFlash('success', 'Check your email for further instructions.');
-				$this->redirect('index');
+				return $this->goHome();
 			} else {
 				Yii::$app->getSession()->setFlash('error', 'There was an error sending email.');
 			}
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 		$model->scenario = 'resetPassword';
 		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->save()) {
 			Yii::$app->getSession()->setFlash('success', 'New password was saved.');
-			$this->redirect('index');
+			return $this->goHome();
 		}
 
 		return $this->render('resetPassword', array(
diff --git a/apps/basic/controllers/SiteController.php b/apps/basic/controllers/SiteController.php
index 0c73873..cd0b3fb 100644
--- a/apps/basic/controllers/SiteController.php
+++ b/apps/basic/controllers/SiteController.php
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	{
 		$model = new LoginForm();
 		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->login()) {
-			return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
+			return $this->goHome();
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('login', array(
 				'model' => $model,
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogout()
 	{
 		Yii::$app->user->logout();
-		return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
+		return $this->goHome();
 	}
 
 	public function actionContact()
diff --git a/apps/basic/views/layouts/main.php b/apps/basic/views/layouts/main.php
index 67b74af..03b09fc 100644
--- a/apps/basic/views/layouts/main.php
+++ b/apps/basic/views/layouts/main.php
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ app\config\AppAsset::register($this);
 				Yii::$app->user->isGuest ?
 					array('label' => 'Login', 'url' => array('/site/login')) :
 					array('label' => 'Logout (' . Yii::$app->user->identity->username .')' , 'url' => array('/site/logout')),
-			)));
+			),
+		));
 		NavBar::end();
 	?>
 
diff --git a/framework/yii/web/Controller.php b/framework/yii/web/Controller.php
index 137b630..b094981 100644
--- a/framework/yii/web/Controller.php
+++ b/framework/yii/web/Controller.php
@@ -96,14 +96,21 @@ class Controller extends \yii\base\Controller
 	 * Redirects the browser to the specified URL.
 	 * This method is a shortcut to [[Response::redirect()]].
 	 *
-	 * @param array|string $url the URL to be redirected to. [[Html::url()]]
-	 * will be used to normalize the URL. If the resulting URL is still a relative URL
-	 * (one without host info), the current request host info will be used.
+	 * @param string|array $url the URL to be redirected to. This can be in one of the following formats:
+	 *
+	 * - a string representing a URL (e.g. "http://example.com")
+	 * - a string representing a URL alias (e.g. "@example.com")
+	 * - an array in the format of `array($route, ...name-value pairs...)` (e.g. `array('site/index', 'ref' => 1)`)
+	 *   [[Html::url()]] will be used to convert the array into a URL.
+	 *
+	 * Any relative URL will be converted into an absolute one by prepending it with the host info
+	 * of the current request.
+	 *
 	 * @param integer $statusCode the HTTP status code. If null, it will use 302
 	 * for normal requests, and [[ajaxRedirectCode]] for AJAX requests.
 	 * See [[http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html]]
 	 * for details about HTTP status code
-	 * @return Response the response object itself
+	 * @return Response the current response object
 	 */
 	public function redirect($url, $statusCode = null)
 	{
@@ -111,6 +118,15 @@ class Controller extends \yii\base\Controller
 	}
 
 	/**
+	 * Redirects the browser to the home page.
+	 * @return Response the current response object
+	 */
+	public function goHome()
+	{
+		return Yii::$app->getResponse()->redirect(Yii::$app->getHomeUrl());
+	}
+
+	/**
 	 * Refreshes the current page.
 	 * This method is a shortcut to [[Response::refresh()]].
 	 * @param string $anchor the anchor that should be appended to the redirection URL.
diff --git a/framework/yii/web/Response.php b/framework/yii/web/Response.php
index a9190b5..ac5fc77 100644
--- a/framework/yii/web/Response.php
+++ b/framework/yii/web/Response.php
@@ -563,9 +563,17 @@ class Response extends \yii\base\Response
 	 * return Yii::$app->getResponse()->redirect($url);
 	 * ~~~
 	 *
-	 * @param string $url the URL to be redirected to. This can be a URL or an alias of the URL.
-	 * The URL can be either relative or absolute. If relative, the host info of the current request
-	 * will be prepend to the URL.
+	 * @param string|array $url the URL to be redirected to. This can be in one of the following formats:
+	 *
+	 * - a string representing a URL (e.g. "http://example.com")
+	 * - a string representing a URL alias (e.g. "@example.com")
+	 * - an array in the format of `array($route, ...name-value pairs...)` (e.g. `array('site/index', 'ref' => 1)`).
+	 *   Note that the route is with respect to the whole application, instead of relative to a controller or module.
+	 *   [[Html::url()]] will be used to convert the array into a URL.
+	 *
+	 * Any relative URL will be converted into an absolute one by prepending it with the host info
+	 * of the current request.
+	 *
 	 * @param integer $statusCode the HTTP status code. If null, it will use 302
 	 * for normal requests, and [[ajaxRedirectCode]] for AJAX requests.
 	 * See [[http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html]]
@@ -574,7 +582,11 @@ class Response extends \yii\base\Response
 	 */
 	public function redirect($url, $statusCode = null)
 	{
-		$url = Yii::getAlias($url);
+		if (is_array($url) && isset($url[0])) {
+			// ensure the route is absolute
+			$url[0] = '/' . ltrim($url[0], '/');
+		}
+		$url = Html::url($url);
 		if (strpos($url, '/') === 0 && strpos($url, '//') !== 0) {
 			$url = Yii::$app->getRequest()->getHostInfo() . $url;
 		}