Having a functional website is something business owners should view as a priority. Studies show that over 40 percent of consumers will stop using a website is confronted with errors or a bad design. This is why finding and fixing the problems your website has is a must.
Using tools like Papertrail – cloud-hosted log management, live in seconds is a great way to view errors before they get out of control. Another great tool to use when trying to figure out why a website is not functioning properly is HTTP status codes.
Each time a consumer tries to access your website, it sends a request to the server it is hosted on. When this request is accepted, an HTTP code will be generated in the header of the website. Most people don’t realize this because these codes are not visible when a website loads properly. However, when there are issues on either the server or consumer side of the spectrum, HTTP codes will pop up on the screen.
The following are some of the things you need to understand about HTTP status codes and how to address the issues they report.
Dealing With Server and Client Error HTTP Status Codes
In case you didn’t know, HTTP status codes surface in the form of a three digit number. Codes that are between the 400 and 499 range are caused by either server or client errors. While most of these error codes will be caused by a problem on the user’s end, there are times when server malfunctions can lead to them being generated.
If a code in the 500 to 599 range is produced, it is generally caused by your server. A web browser will present these error codes when it is unable to process a request made by a user.
Are you trying to troubleshoot these HTTP codes? If so, follow these helpful tips.
- If you are using a web browser to test, be sure to refresh it once you have made changes to the server.
- Look at your server logs to find out more details about the error code. If you are using a web server like Nginx or Apache, you should be able to look at a list of error logs and get concrete information on what is going on.
- The actual HTTP code showing up is dictated by how a server handles a request. Using this code as a general guideline is the best way to flush out problems.
While finding the root cause of an HTTP status code will take time, it is worth the effort in the long run.
The Dreaded 400 Bad Request HTTP Status Code
One of the most common and annoying HTTP status codes a user may be presented with is the 400 bad request. Often times, this code will indicate that the request sent to the server has invalid syntax.
If the user’s cookies have been infiltrated by a corrupt site, it can lead to this code being generated. Cleaning out the files in the web browser’s cookie folder could help a user to fix this issue. In some instances, there may be an error in the web address entered in the web browser search bar.
The 403 Forbidden HTTP Status Code
If a web browser user does not have sufficient permissions to access a particular website, they will be presented with the 403 Forbidden status code. The first thing a user should try when attempting to fix this problem is to look for web browser updates. If the browser is outdated, it may not have the proper permissions required by the website server.
It is the job of a website owner to remove any issues that may cause HTTP status codes to be generated. If you are unsure about how to set up this type of error-free environment, reaching out to an experienced web developer for help is a good idea.
You must be logged in to post a comment.