What are
HTTP status codes?
HTTP status codes are three-digit
responses from the server to the browser-side request. Everyone has probably
gotten the classic 404 page-not-found error. That is an HTTP client error
status code and there are a lot more of them.
These status codes (also called response
status codes) serve as a means of communication between the
server and the internet browser and there are multiple code classes based on
the type of information they are communicating. The differences in classes are
indicated through the first digit of the error code, for example: just like a
404, any other 4xx will mean that in some way the page or website could not be
reached, while a 2xx means that your request was successfully completed.
Table of content
What are HTTP status codes?
How are HTTP status codes categorized?
Complete list of HTTP Status Codes
What does this HTTP status code mean?
HTTP Status codes to know for SEO
How to check the HTTP status code
How to fix 404 errors
How to fix 503 errors
How are HTTP status codes
categorized?
HTTP status codes are split into 5
different categories. Each category will give you hints as to what the response
was, even if you don't know the specific response code.
For an explanation of each category - and each individual
status code - click on the corresponding link below or go to our complete
list of HTTP status codes.
1xx - Informational: The server has
received the request and is continuing the process
2xx - Successful: The request was successful and the browser has received the
expected information
3xx (Redirection): You have been redirected and the completion of the request
requires further action
4xx (Client Error): The website or the page could not be reached, either the
page is unavailable or the request contains bad syntax
5xx (Server Error): While the request appears to be valid, the server could not
complete the request
Complete list of HTTP Status Codes
|
Status
code |
Meaning |
|
1xx Informational |
|
|
100 |
Continue |
|
101 |
Switching protocols |
|
102 |
Processing |
|
103 |
Early Hints |
|
|
|
|
2xx |
|
|
200 |
OK |
|
201 |
Created |
|
202 |
Accepted |
|
203 |
Non-Authoritative Information |
|
204 |
No Content |
|
205 |
Reset Content |
|
206 |
Partial Content |
|
207 |
Multi-Status |
|
208 |
Already Reported |
|
226 |
IM Used |
|
|
|
|
3xx Redirection |
|
|
300 |
Multiple Choices |
|
301 |
Moved Permanently |
|
302 |
Found (Previously "Moved
Temporarily") |
|
303 |
See Other |
|
304 |
Not Modified |
|
305 |
Use Proxy |
|
306 |
Switch Proxy |
|
307 |
Temporary Redirect |
|
308 |
Permanent Redirect |
|
|
|
|
4xx Client Error |
|
|
400 |
Bad Request |
|
401 |
Unauthorized |
|
402 |
Payment Required |
|
403 |
Forbidden |
|
404 |
Not Found |
|
405 |
Method Not Allowed |
|
406 |
Not Acceptable |
|
407 |
Proxy Authentication Required |
|
408 |
Request Timeout |
|
409 |
Conflict |
|
410 |
Gone |
|
411 |
Length Required |
|
412 |
Precondition Failed |
|
413 |
Payload Too Large |
|
414 |
URI Too Long |
|
415 |
Unsupported Media Type |
|
416 |
Range Not Satisfiable |
|
417 |
Expectation Failed |
|
418 |
I'm a Teapot |
|
421 |
Misdirected Request |
|
422 |
Unprocessable Entity |
|
423 |
Locked |
|
424 |
Failed Dependency |
|
425 |
Too Early |
|
426 |
Upgrade Required |
|
428 |
Precondition Required |
|
429 |
Too Many Requests |
|
431 |
Request Header Fields Too Large |
|
451 |
Unavailable For Legal Reasons |
|
|
|
|
5xx Server Error |
|
|
500 |
Internal Server Error |
|
501 |
Not Implemented |
|
502 |
Bad Gateway |
|
503 |
Service Unavailable |
|
504 |
Gateway Timeout |
|
505 |
HTTP Version Not Supported |
|
506 |
Variant Also Negotiates |
|
507 |
Insufficient Storage |
|
508 |
Loop Detected |
|
510 |
Not Extended |
|
511 |
Network Authentication Required |
HTTP Status Codes explained
individually
In some cases a HTTP response code
might be descriptive enough to understand its meaning. 200 OK probably means
that everything went okay. But what about a 103 Early Hints, 205 Reset Content
and 305 Use Proxy?
Below is an explanation for all 63 status codes, sorted in
the 5 overall categories.
What does a 1xx Informational status
code mean?
A 1xx Informational status code
means that the server has received the request and is continuing the process. A
1xx status code is purely temporary and is given while the request processing
continues. For most tasks you won't encounter these much, as it's not the final
response to the request.
100 Continue
101 Switching protocols
102 Processing
103 Early Hints
What does 100 Continue mean?
The 100 Continue status
code means that the initial part of the request has been received by the server
and that the client should proceed with the request or ignore the response if
the request has already finished.
What does 101 Switching protocols mean?
The 101 Switching protocols status
code means that the server understands the Upgrade header field request and
indicates which protocol it is switching to.
What does 102 Processing mean?
The 102 Processing status
code means that the server has accepted the full request but has not yet
completed it and no response is available as of yet.
What does 103 Early Hints mean?
The 103 Early hints status
code is intended to be used to allow the user agent to preload resources, while
the server prepares a response. It is intended to be primarily used with the
Link Header.
What does a 2xx Succesful status
code mean?
A 2xx Succesful status code means
that the request was successful and the browser has received the expected
information. This is generally the one you want to see, as it means that the
request was a success and has been received, understood and accepted it. As a
website owner you should make sure that all pages and resources (images,
videos, etc.) all return a 2xx status code. This means that browsers can reach
it successfully and that your website visitors can see and use your website.
200 OK
201 Created
202 Accepted
203 Non-Authoritative Information
204 No Content
205 Reset Content
206 Partial Content
207 Multi-Status
208 Already Reported
226 IM Used
What does 200 OK mean?
The 200 OK status
code means that the request was successful, but the meaning of success depends
on the request method used:
GET: The requested resource has been
fetched and transmitted to the message body.
HEAD: The header fields from the requested resource are sent in without the
message body.
POST or PUT: A description of the result of the action is transmitted to the
message body.
TRACE: The request messages, as received by the server, will be included in the
message body
When looking at things SEO-wise the
200 OK response code is the perfect status code for a functioning page, all the
linked pages are working as they should. A 200 will mean that search engine
crawlers can successfully crawl the page and it will be put into their search
index.
What does 201 Created mean?
The 201 Created status
code means that the request was successfully fulfilled and resulted in one or
possibly multiple new resources being created.
What does 202 Accepted mean?
The 202 Accepted status
code means that the request has been accepted for processing, but the
processing has not been finished yet. The request may or may not be completed
when the processing eventually takes place.
What does 203 Non-Authoritative Information mean?
The 203 Non-Authoritative
Information status code means that the request was successful.
However, the meta-information that has been received is different from the one
on the origin server and has instead been collected from a 3rd party or local
copy. When not used for backups or mirrors of another resource a 200 OK
response is preferable.
What does 204 No Content mean?
The 204 No Content status
code means that while the server has successfully fulfilled the request, there
is no available content for this request. But the user agent might want to
update its currently cached headers for this resource, for the new one.
What does 205 Reset Content mean?
The 205 Reset Content status
code means that the user should reset the document that sent this request.
What does 206 Partial Content mean?
The 206 Partial Content response
code is a response to a Range header sent from the client when requesting only
a part of the resource.
What does 207 Multi-Status mean?
The 207 Multi-Status status
code conveys information about multiple resources, in situation when multiple
status codes are appropriate.
What does 208 Already Reported mean?
The 208 Already Reported status
code is used inside the response element DAV: propstat, in order to
avoid enumerating the internal members of multiple bindings to the same
collection repeatedly.
What does 226 IM Used mean?
The 226 IM response code
means that the server has successfully fulfilled a GET request for
the resource, and the response is a representation of the result of one or
multiple instance-manipulations applied to the current instance.
What does a 3xx Redirection code
mean?
A 3xx Redirection status code means
that you have been redirected and the completion of the request requires
further action. Redirects are a natural part of the internet and you shouldn't
be scared to have 3xx redirect status codes on your website. A redirect means
that the request was received successfully, but that the resource was found
elsewhere. If a webpage has changed path and you try to access it through the
old path, your CMS will often redirect the user to the new path. Ultimately the
request will end in a 2xx success, but first it must go through the 3xx
redirection.
300 Multiple Choices
301 Moved Permanently
302 Found (Previously "Moved temporarily")
303 See Other
304 Not Modified
305 Use Proxy
306 Switch Proxy
307 Temporary Redirect
308 Permanent Redirect
What does 300 Multiple Choices mean?
The 300 Multiple Choices status
code means that the request has multiple possible responses and the user/user
agent should choose one.
What does 301 Moved Permanently mean?
The 301 Moved Permanently response
code means that the target resource has been assigned a new permanent URL and
any references to this resources in the future should use one of the URLs
included in the response.
When looking at things SEO-wise the 301 Permanent Redirect
should be used every time a URL is moved permanently. This redirect passes your
current link equity from your content to the new URL. Links that result in a
status code 301 does give slightly less link equity than 200. So if you have a
lot of links going through a 301 Permanent Redirect it is advised to fix these,
if possible.
What does 302 Found (Previously “Moved temporarily”) mean?
The 302 Found status
code, previously known as “Moved temporarily”, means that the URI of the
request has been changed temporarily, and since changes can be made to the URI
in the future, the effective request URI should be used for future requests.
When looking at things SEO-wise the 302 Found should only be
used when making temporary changes as it does not pass the link equity the same
way as a 301. If the page is not going to come back you should always use 301.
What does 303 See Other mean?
The 303 See Other response code is sent by the server in order to direct
the client to get the requested resource at another URI with a GET request.
What does 304 Not Modified mean?
The 304 Not Modified response
code informs the client that the response has not been modified. This means
that the client can continue to use the already present, cached version of the
response.
What does 305 Use Proxy mean?
The 305 Use Proxy status
code instructs a client that it should connect to a proxy and then repeat the
same request there. This response code is deprecated due to security concerns.
What does 306 Switch Proxy mean?
The 306 Switch proxy status
code is no longer in use. It was used to inform the client that the subsequent
requests should use the specified proxy.
What does 307 Temporary Redirect mean?
The 307 Temporary Redirect status
code gets sent by the server in order to direct the client to the requested
resource at another URI. The request method, however, must not be changed.
What does 308 Permanent Redirect mean?
The 308 Permanent Redirect status
code means that the requested resource has been permanently assigned a new URI
and future references to the resource should be made by using one of the
enclosed URIs.
What does a 4xx Client Error mean?
A 4xx Client Error status code means
that the website or the page could not be reached and either the page is
unavailable or the request contains bad syntax. As a website owner you should
do your best to avoid these, as it means your users will not find what they're
looking for. This can be either pages that are no longer found and are either
temporarily or permanently gone. Besides giving a bad user experience, it can
also hurt your SEO efforts.
400 Bad Request
401 Unauthorized
402 Payment Required
403 Forbidden
404 Not Found
405 Method Not Allowed
406 Not Acceptable
407 Proxy Authentication Required
408 Request Timeout
409 Conflict
410 Gone
411 Length Required
412 Precondition Failed
413 Payload Too Large
414 URI Too Long
415 Unsupported Media Type
416 Range Not Satisfiable
417 Expectation Failed
418 I'm a Teapot
421 Misdirected Request
422 Unprocessable Entity
423 Locked
424 Failed Dependency
425 Too Early
426 Upgrade Required
428 Precondition Required
429 Too Many Requests
431 Request Header Fields Too Large
451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons
What does 400 Bad Request mean?
The 400 Bad Request status
code means that the server could not understand the request because of invalid
syntax.
What does 401 Unauthorized mean?
The 401 Unauthorized status
code means that the request has not been applied because the server requires
user authentication.
What does 402 Payment Required mean?
The 402 Payment Required status
code is a response reserved for future use. It was originally created to be implemented
in digital payment systems, however, it is rarely used and a standard
convention of using it does not exist.
What does 403 Forbidden mean?
The 403 Forbidden status
code means that the client request has been rejected because the client does
not have rights to access the content. Unlike a 401 error, the client's
identity is known to the server, but since they are not authorized to view the
content, giving the proper response is rejected by the server.
What does error 404 mean?
The 404 Not Found status
code means that the server either did not find a current representation for the
requested resource or is trying to hide its existence from an unauthorized
client.
When looking at things SEO-wise the 404 Not Found status
code pages with a high volume of traffic should be redirected using a 301 to
the most relevant page possible. For some pages, however, a 404 might be
necessary, for example, if the product is out of stock for an extended period
of time. If you have external links pointing to a page that returns 404, you
will lose the link equity those links would otherwise give.
If you need to fix 404 errors, jump to this section.
What does 405 Method Not Allowed mean?
The 405 Method Not Allowed status
code means that while the server knows the request method, the method has been
disabled and can not be used.
What does 406 Not Acceptable mean?
The 406 Not Acceptable status
code is sent by the server when it does not find any content following the
criteria given by the user agent.
What does 407 Proxy Authentication Required mean?
The 407 Proxy Authentication
Required status code means that the client must first be authenticated
by a proxy (similar to a 401).
What does 408 Request Timeout mean?
The 408 Request Timeout status
code means that the server did not receive a complete request in the time that
it prepared to wait.
What does 409 Conflict mean?
The 409 Conflict status
code means that the request could not be fulfilled due to a conflict with the
current state of the target resource and is used in situations where the user
might be able to resubmit the request after resolving the conflict.
What does 410 Gone mean?
The 410 Gone status
code means that the target resource has been deleted and the condition seems to
be permanent.
When looking at things SEO-wise the 410 Gone status code is
a more permanent version a 404. The page will no longer be available from the
server and has no forwarding address available. If you want to completely
remove a page from Googles search index, then using 410 on a page is the proper
way of doing it (instead of simply 404).
What does 411 Length Required mean?
The 411 Length Required status
code means that the server has rejected the request because it requires the
Content-Length header field to be defined.
What does 412 Precondition Failed mean?
The 412 Precondition Failed status
code means the server does not meet one or multiple preconditions that were
indicated in the request header fields.
What does 413 Payload Too Large mean?
The 413 Payload Too Large status
code means the server refuses to process the request because the request
payload is larger than the server is able or willing to process. While the
server may close the connection to prevent the client from continuing the
request, it should generate a Retry-After header field and after how long can
the client retry.
What does 414 URI Too Long mean?
The 414 URI Too Long status
code means that the server is refusing to service the request because the
request-target was longer than the server was willing to interpret.
What does 415 Unsupported Media Type mean?
The 415 Unsupported Media
Type status code means that the server is rejecting the request
because it does not support the media format of the requested data.
What does 416 Range Not Satisfiable mean?
The 416 Range Not
Satisfiable status code means that the range specified in the Range
header field of the request can't be fulfilled. The reason might be that the
given range is outside the size of the target URI's data.
What does 417 Expectation Failed mean?
The 417 Expectation Failed status
code means that the Expectation indicated by the Expect request-header field
could not be met by the server.
What does 418 I’m a Teapot mean?
The 418 I'm a Teapot status
code means that the server refuses to brew coffee because it is, in fact, a
teapot. (It is a reference to a 1998 April Fools' joke called ''Hyper Text
Coffee Pot Control Protocol'').
What does 421 Misdirected Request mean?
The 421 Misdirected Request status
code means that the client request was directed at a server that is not
configured to produce a response.
What does 422 Unprocessable Entity mean?
The 422 Unprocessable Entity status
code means that while the request was well-formed, the server was unable to
follow it, due to semantic errors.
What does 423 Locked mean?
The 423 Locked status
code means that the resource that is being accessed is locked.
What does 424 Failed Dependency mean?
The 424 Failed Dependency status
code means that the request failed due to the failure of a previous request.
What does 425 Too Early mean?
The 425 Too Early status code
means that the server is not willing to risk processing a request that might be
replayed.
What does 426 Upgrade Required mean?
The 426 Upgrade Required status
code means that while the server refuses to perform the given request using the
current protocol, it might be willing to do so after the client has been
upgraded to a different protocol.
What does 428 Precondition Required mean?
The 428 Precondition
Required status code means that the origin server requires the request
to be conditional.
What does 429 Too Many Requests mean?
The 429 Too Many Requests response
code means that in the given time, the user has sent too many requests.
What does
431 Request Header Fields Too Large mean?
The 431 Request Header
Fields Too Large means that the server is not willing to process the
request because its header fields are indeed too large, however, the request
may be submitted again once the size of the request header fields is reduced.
What does 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons mean?
The 451 Unavailable For
Legal Reasons response code means that the user has requested an
illegal resource (such as pages and sites blocked by the government).
What does a 5xx Server error mean?
A 5xx Server error status code means
that while the request appears to be valid, the server could not complete the
request. If you're experiencing 5xx server errors for your website, you should
immediately look at your server. If you're hosting your own server you'll need
to start debugging to figure out why it is not responding properly. If you're
using an external hosting provider you'll need to reach out to them, so they
can look at it.
500 Internal Server Error
501 Not Implemented
502 Bad Gateway
503 Service Unavailable
504 Gateway Timeout
505 HTTP Version Not Supported
506 Variant Also Negotiates
507 Insufficient Storage
508 Loop Detected
510 Not Extended
511 Network Authentication Required
What does 500 Internal Server Error mean?
The 500 Internal Server
Error status code means that the server has encountered a situation
that it does not know how to handle.
When looking at things SEO-wise the 500 Internal Server
Error indicates a problem with the server, not the actual availability of the
content. Since bots and users will both be lost, the link equity will go down
fast.
What does 501 Not Implemented mean?
The 501 Not Implemented response
code means that the request can not be handled because it is not supported by
the server.
What does 502 Bad Gateway mean?
The 502 Bad Gateway response
code means that the server received an invalid response while working as a
gateway to handle the response.
What does 503 Service Unavailable mean?
The 503 Service Unavailable response
code means that the server is currently not ready to handle the request. This
is a common occurrence when the server is down for maintenance or is
overloaded.
When looking at things SEO-wise the 503 Service Unavailable
status code means that the server is unavailable and the visitor, bot or human,
is asked to return again at a later time. This could be because of either
server maintenance or server overload and search engines know to come back and
check the availability later.
If you want to fix 503 errors, jump to this section.
What does 504 Gateway Timeout mean?
The 504 Gateway Timeout response
code means that the server acting as a gateway could not get a response time.
What does 505 HTTP Version Not Supported mean?
The 505 HTTP Version Not
Supported response code means that the version of HTTP used in the
request is not supported by the server.
What does 506 Variant Also Negotiates mean?
The 506 Variant Also
Negotiates response code means that the server has the following
internal configuration error: The chosen variant resource is configured to
engage in transparent negotiation itself, therefore it cannot be a proper
endpoint in the negotiation process.
What does 507 Insufficient Storage mean?
The 507 Insufficient Storage status
code means that the method could not be performed on the resource because the
server is not able to store the representation that would be needed to complete
the request successfully.
What does 508 Loop Detected mean?
The 508 Loop Detected response
code means that the server has detected an infinite loop while processing the
request.
What does 510 Not Extended mean?
The 510 Not Extended response
code means that further extensions are required for the server to be able to
fulfil the request.
What does 511 Network Authentication Required mean?
The 511 Network
Authentication Required response code indicates that the client needs
to authenticate to gain network access.
HTTP Status Codes & SEO: Here
are the ones you need to know
If you want great results with your
SEO it's important to work with technical
SEO. A big part of that is handling response codes on your website
to ensure that the website is properly crawled by Googlebot and that your
content returns the proper response code when it is requested.
Below are the 5 status codes that you need to know as an
SEO.
200 OK & SEO
This is the goal for 99 % of your
content (pages, media, etc.): a successful status code that means everything
works like it should. This is critical to a well-functioning website and for a
great user experience.
It also gives you the reassurance that all external pointing
to your website will give you link value. If all of your content returns a 200
OK status code you can rest assured that your website is working and is
properly accessible for crawlers and visitors alike.
301 Moved Permanently & SEO
In a perfect world all of your
content will stay on the same URL and always respond with a 200 OK. But that's
rarely how it works in the real world when managing a website.
If a page has changed its URL you will need to set up a
redirect to send users and bots from the old URL to the new URL. Otherwise they
will be met by a 404 page (see explanation below). In some content management systems, automatic redirect
is a built-in SEO feature, while
in others you'll have to manually set it up.
You should use 301 redirects if the page is permanently gone
and will not come back. This is the case for pages that have changed their URL
or content that has been deleted.
If something is gone, instead of simply moved, you can
either let it become a 404 or choose to redirect it to something similar on
your website. This could be a product that you're no longer going to sell,
where it can make sense to redirect that page to the category page instead.
302 Found & SEO
What if the page is only gone
temporarily, but will come back again later? To give a good user experience you
don't want it to become a 404 page and you also don't want to make a permanent
301 redirect.
The solution is to use 302 Found instead of a 301. To the
user it will be the same, but to search engine crawlers and bots, it will tell
them to check back later on, as this redirect is only temporary. That means the
old URL will keep its value while it's gone.
This is perfect for pages that will only be unavailable
temporarily. An example could be a sold-out product which is removed from the
website until it is back in stock. In that case you want to make use of a 302
Found temporary redirect. Once the product is back online, you remove the
redirect and the page will have kept its value (and good rankings in search
engines).
Note that if the 302 redirect is there for too long, Google
will consider it a 301 permanent redirect instead.
404 Not Found & SEO
If a page is no longer found it will
result in a 404 page (psst, here's some
tips on how to make a great 404 page). This means, that the
server tells users, crawlers and bots that the page they were looking for is
not found.
These are important to keep an eye on, as they can hurt your
SEO a lot if not monitored and fixed.
Firstly, if a page returns a 404 it won't be shown in
Google's search results. While it won't get removed instantly, it will be after
a short period of time, if not fixed. So if any of the pages that give you
organic traffic end up returning a 404 error, you need to fix it quickly. See
some tips on how to fix 404 errors here.
Secondly, if the page had any external links pointing to it,
they will no longer give any value to your website. So even if the page does
not receive any organic traffic, it can hurt your SEO performance.
The easiest way to fix this problem is to set up a 301
redirect. This will give a better user experience and will pass most of the
link value from external links to the new page you're redirecting to.
410 Gone & SEO
What if you actually want a page to
completely disappear from Google's search engine index? It might be intuitive
to simply let it return a 404 error, but there's one caveat with that:
404 does not tell crawlers and bots why the page was not
found. For that reason, Google still
might keep thinking that the page is there, even if it encounters a 404 error.
In most cases this is fine, but there's one case where you want to make it
crystal clear that the content is gone. And that's if you have been hacked and
malicious content has been added to your website.
After doing cleanup it's not enough to let the URLs return
404. Instead you should make sure that they return the 410 Gone status code.
This clearly tells crawlers and bots that the page is gone for good and that
they should remove it from their index.
5xx Server errors & SEO
The last one is not directly
SEO-related, but more of a good tip for troubleshooting your website.
If you see any response code that start with 5xx, you should
instantly know that it is a server error. This will help you greatly when it
comes to troubleshooting and fixing it.
Instead of wasting time trying to fix the problem through
your CMS backend or elsewhere, you can go straight to fixing the server. No
matter if you do your own hosting or if you use a hosting provider, it is helpful
to know that it's related to the server, not your website.
How to check the HTTP status code of
a page
Finding the server response code for
a page can be done manually in your browser or by using various tools and
website crawlers.
Depending on the browser you're using it is slightly
different. Below is how to do it in Chrome (most steps will be similar in other
browsers).
Checking HTTP status code in Chrome
Open the URL your want to check with
your browser
Open the Developer tab (F12) and go to the "Network" tab
Refresh the page
Scroll to the top of the list of requests and find the first of type
"document"
In "Status" you can now find the HTTP response code
How to fix 404 errors
If you have seen the status code 404
Page Not found you might have been thinking "What does error 404
mean?"
HTTP status code 404 means "Page Not Found". This
means that the request you sent was received by the server, but it could not
find the page you were looking for.
So to fix the 404 error you first need to find the cause for
it, which can be due to many things. But since you know that the server is
reachable (otherwise it would have returned a 5xx error), you know that the
error is client-side. Basically that means it's your fault (not as harsh as it
sounds).
Luckily it means that you can also fix the error on your end
without having to debugging your server or reaching out to your hosting provider.
Run through this checklist to fix
the 404 error:
Refresh the page. It might seem
simple, but a 404 error could have just been a temporary issue that is fixed
simply by trying again.
Check the URL you typed in. Did you make a mistake somewhere? If the URL you
typed is not exactly right a 404 is to be expected (unless a 3xx redirect is
set up)
If no mistake was made, try again from a different device like your mobile
phone or tablet. If it works from a different device it's most likely due to
browser cache and cookies. Clear the browser cache and delete cookies, then try
to access the page again.
If none of the above tricks worked, it's likely that the
piece of content was deleted or some other way moved. If the content was moved,
which caused it to change URL, then you should make sure to set up a redirect
that points from the old URL to the new one. That way you're sure that anyone
looking for the page can still find it.
If it was deleted, then a 404 error is the right response as
the page truly was not found on your website and everything is working as it
should.
If you see a lot of your visitors ending up on this page,
then it's most likely due to one of 3 things:
You have an internal link on your
website pointing to the page. If that's the case, you should remove (or change)
this link so it no longer points to a page that is not found.
External websites link to the page. This is trickier as you can't simply change
it (although you can reach out to the websites and ask them to change it). A
more simple thing for you to do would be to add a 301 redirect and point from
the page to a different page on your website. That way you lead people to a
page that is working, while also being a SEO-friendly option.
The page is still showing up in Google's search results and sending traffic to
your website. While this is usually short-lived, it is possible that a 404 page
can stay in the search results for a while, as a 404 does not tell Googlebot
whether the page is temporarily or permanently missing. If this is happening,
you'll need to get the page back quickly or redirect it to a different page, so
you won't lose your rankings in Google.
Find 404 pages in Google Analytics
Have you ever wondered if there’s a
way to find 404 pages in Google Analytics?
Well, the good news is, there are ways to find them within
your analytics setup. Now this can sometimes come down to how your website is
configured. One way to find them is to check by page title - Your 404 page will
very likely have “404” or “Page not found” in the title. It’s very easy to find
the 404 page this way:
Within your analytics tool, go to
behavior → Site Content → All Pages.
Now you can set your primary dimension to Page title and search for “404”
or “Page not Found”.
And now - you should hopefully have your 404 report.
Now this is not the only way to set it up, but there is a very good chance that
you can find the pages this way.
How to fix 503 errors
The 503 response code means
"Service Unavailable" and happens when a server is currently not
ready to handle the request. This can be either due to the server being down
for maintenance or if it is overloaded.
If this error occurs on your own website, you need to have a
look at your server, as something is making it unable to process the requests
made.
Unfortunately, it's not always easy and simple to fix. A 503
response code can be due to many things, but at least you know it's
server-related and not client-side like with a 404 error.
Here's a list of steps you can go
through to identify and fix a 503 error:
Is your website still running and
receiving traffic? Check your Analytics tools or server logs to see if other
visitors are getting through to your website.
If it's no longer receiving traffic your server might be under maintenance or
have crashed. If it's under maintenance, then a 503 is to be expected and
everything will work fine once it's done. If it crashed you should try
restarting it.
If you're receiving huge amounts of website traffic, the server is most likely
overloaded and returning 503 errors because it doesn't have the resources to
keep up. Before fixing such an issue you need to identify it the traffic is
from real visitors or if you're the victim of a DoS or DDoS attack.
Identifying a DoS or DDoS attack can
be hard, but the most effective ways are:Checking if one or more IP addresses
make a lot of requests
The TTL (time to live) on a ping request times out
Analyzing the server logs and seeing huge spikes in traffic
If it looks to be a DoS or DDoS attack, you'll need to apply one or more defense techniques to stop the
attack.
If it is not a DoS or DDoS attack, then your website has most likely become
more popular than your server can handle. The best way to fix such an issue is
to look at connection limits, bandwidth throttling, system resources,
fail-safes that might have triggered or anything that might be limiting server
performance. Essentially you'll need to upgrade your server so it has the
proper resources to handle the traffic.
The above list is great for troubleshooting one-off 503
errors. But if it happens on a regular basis, then it might be a more permanent
problem with your server that you should dive deeper into fixing. This can be
inefficient processes using up all of your resources or your server simply not
having enough allocated resources to handle the traffic your website is
receiving.
What status code is returned by a
website when the browser request is successful?
With all these HTTP status codes - It can be a bit
daunting to figure if any of them are good. But some of them are.
A browser will return a 2xx status code if the browser request was successful.
So a 2xx code is the one you want to see. The 200 status code means that the
browser’s request was successful and received, understood, and accepted.
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