Basically, every Internet user encountered various error codes instead of expected web pages. Either as plain text or as a special placeholder page, depending on the visited web site. And it is not an uncommon occurrence for Internet users in general – it happens from time to time with almost every website. But if the appearance of the HTTP status code is a minor annoyance for the visitor, and it usually disappears on its own, for the webmasters and site owners it might be a source of a huge headache.
Those issues become troublesome primarily when there are codes that are not related to the simple absence of the web page or redirects – those are usually on the side of the client. Mainly various codes that refer to user-side problems, like incorrectly typed addresses, are the source of troubles. Although, for example, there also are issues that refer to the server-side problems as well. And there are even errors that are marking various problems from both sides. Those are troubles that show up at the client and the server at the same time.
Therefore, considering all the above, if the webmaster can’t fix such issues as soon as possible, then visitors might leave the website for its own good and never come back. Especially when errors show up for the whole site or for some of the vital parts of its functionality. Therefore, it is crucial for the webmaster to understand various HTTP codes and monitor the web site for their appearance.
Valid HTTP Status Codes
Speaking in simple terms, the status code is literally the message that shows the state of the response to the user’s actions (or requests, if you use the technical term). And such messages, not always visible to users, are appearing in the specific log after almost every user’s action. For example, you can ping your website’s host and check its connection status with HostTracker’s ping tool to understand the basics. Normally, you will get a 200 OK response. Speaking in general, there are 5 categories of these messages:
- Codes from 100 to 199. Basic information about the nominal status or non-vital response delays. From slowly loading web pages up to partially completed file downloading. Invisible to users.
- Codes from 200 to 299. Simple messages about successful request execution. Some of these are properties of major IT and non-IT companies like Microsoft and Google. Usually invisible to users.
- Codes from 300 to 399. Messages with various information about web site structure changes and its proper and improper configuration. Usually invisible for users except for situations with misconfigured or completely unconfigured changes.
- Codes from 400 to 499. Mainly refer to improper requests from the user side. Like URL typos, following dead links and so on. Although some of these errors are related to the misconfigured site structure and various other back-end errors.
- Codes from 500 to 599. A variety of server-side issues caused by malfunctioning or misconfigured software or its hardware. These messages are always connected to the errors on the side of the server and could be handled only by the webmaster.
Despite being generated every time someone does something that requires sending specific requests to the web site, the message shows up only when there’s something seriously wrong with the state of the web site. Moreover, you will see the message only using external access to the site. In other words, you will need to look at everything from the visitor’s perspective.
Therefore, these codes are visible only when you are either the site’s user or the webmaster that is conducting external monitoring. For example, as the webmaster you can get detailed HTTP response with Host-Tracker’s HTTP checker and check whether there’s something wrong with the web site or not. You can even sign up and set up an automated status monitoring routine.
How to Fix Website Redirect Problem
One of the most common problems showing up when users are seeing the status message are 300 to 399 – redirects. There are a lot of them and they are happening either because the user typed the outdated URL or because the webmaster didn’t set up a proper sequence. And when in the former case there’s clearly a user-side issue, the latter case should be solved on the server.
The most common among those issues is the so-called “redirect loop” – ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS or “Too many redirects”. This is a double-sided error because it can be caused both on the client side and the server side. And there are some crucial steps to solve this issue:
- A cache should be cleared on both sides – in the browser and on the server. It will probably work with the single-occurrence issue for the visitor. And it will surely work for the webmaster, especially for the WordPress site.
- Proxy settings should be reset and reconfigured on both sides. Usually, a loop happens when there’s a flexible SSL or variable proxy set up on the server or the user is connected to the network through the VPN and the like.
Also, if you’re the webmaster, then you must manually check redirects and reconfigure them if needed. Especially when you are reconfiguring or moving the website.Because even the slightest mistake, if unnoticed, can cause a lot of troubles. And in case of redirects, it can cause really serious damage to the business. From slight reputational loss due to annoyed audiences and up to serious issues with Google Search and Google Ads services, as well as with other things related to the development and promotion of the web site.
How to Check 404 Error Page in Website
The other issue that is among the most common ones is the infamous 404 Not Found. And it means that the web page is literally absent on the server due to various reasons. Because of the typo from the visitor, broken or not set up redirect, directory removal and other reasons. And it will be a huge blow to the website’s user satisfaction, reputation, search and advertising services assessment and so on if there’s a 404 error on the landing page or even on several pages.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand the 404 error and the methods to find its source and fix it as soon as possible. Of course, you can exclude the visitor’s typos from the list of reasons, but there will still be a couple of them:
- Web page was completely removed. Basically, you need to load the backup of the website if you deleted the page permanently. Or you need to restore it as fast as possible. But in case it was deleted intentionally, it will become a user-side (or client-side issue) and you probably should set up a placeholder redirect for such cases.
- Web page was moved to another location within the site structure. In this case, you must either move the web page to its initial directory to make it accessible or you must properly set up redirects for it. Usually, the latter is the most appropriate solution, especially when you changed the structure of the web site or moved to another hosting.
- Web page was moved to another location but the redirect was misconfigured. This case requires the same course of action as the simple move of the web page – you must set up everything properly. And clear the site cache to properly renew the link.
To properly look for 404 errors on the web site without doing everything manually, you can simply monitor website availability with Host-Tracker’s tool and look through the logs. Or you can use tools like Serpstat service or Google Console to quickly look through the web pages.
Basically, the aforementioned tools will help the webmaster with determining the integrity of the website structure, as well as with checking the redirects and other things that could lead to the 404 error or the like. Also, with the help of such tools, it will be much easier to handle large-scale web site structure changes and even complete moving of the whole site between different hosting platforms.
FAQs about 404 Error on My Website
- Does a 404 error mean I was blocked? Basically, 404 is not a network-side error, as well as most of 400 to 499 errors. Therefore, this particular error means what it means. The web page that you as the user (or as the monitoring webmaster) want to access does not exist or was moved permanently without the redirect.
- Which is not valid HTTP status code? There are a lot of codes that show the invalid state of the request or the invalid response. And most of them are either under 400 to 499 or under 500 to 599. Therefore, if you see one of the aforementioned codes, then something has gone wrong.
- Why is my website not redirecting properly? Such issues are pretty common for websites, especially after moving from hosting to hosting and after changing the structure of the site directories. Therefore, there are two causes for such problems – improper configuration or outdated cache that should be cleared. Usually, both things are the case.
Final Words
There are a lot of various codes you might encounter as the user and as the webmaster. It is impossible to remember all of them, but they are at least grouped by the source of their occurrence. Therefore, as the webmaster, you must know the basics of the classification of HTTP codes.
And if you want to keep their appearance in check and quickly fix them, it is seriously vital for you to set up a monitoring toolkit like HostTracker and constantly check everything with its tools. This way you will be able to find that web page error codes are showing up, diagnose those codes quickly and fix the source of the problem as soon as possible.
This way it will be possible to find out whether there are any error codes showing up, diagnose them and fix everything as soon as possible.
