I know it’s frustrating to get an error code. The most common error that shows up on a website is error 404 or error 500. In this post, we are going to give you the big picture of what this status code is, what it is for, and how to mitigate it if you find this error.
Let’s start with a Status Code or Error Code on a Website.
A status or Error code is a numerical or alphanumeric value assigned to a specific error condition. When an error occurs, the program or system generates an error code to show the viewer the issue and its location. This code serves as a form of communication between the system and the users by providing information for quick troubleshooting or debugging.
Let’s talk about the kinds of error codes that are known out there. For this instance, we are going to use Websites’ error codes. Note for yourself: Each program has its own code, but websites almost always use the same error code.
HTTP Error Codes
- 1xx Informational. This code shows that the server has received and is currently processing the request.
- 100 Continue: The client should continue with the request.
- 101 Switching Protocols: The server switches protocols, such as HTTP to WebSockets.
- 102 Processing: The server has received and is processing the request, but no response is available yet.
- 103 Early Hints: The server is hinting about the response that is to come, without actually sending it yet.
- 2xx Successful. These codes show that the request has been successfully received and accepted.
- 200 OK: The request was successful. The specific response depends on the request method.
- 201 Created: The request was successful, and a new resource has been created.
- 202 Accepted: The request has been accepted for processing but has not been completed.
- 203 Non-Authoritative Information: The server is not the authoritative source of the content returned.
- 204 No Content: The server successfully processed the request, but is not returning any content.
- 205 Reset Content: The server successfully processed the request, but is not returning any content. The client should reset the document view.
- 206 Partial Content: The server is delivering only part of the resource due to a range header sent by the client.
- 207 Multi-Status: The message body contains multiple status reports, usually for numerous independent requests.
- 208 Already Reported: The members of a DAV binding have already been reported.
- 226 IM Used: The server has fulfilled a request for the resource, and the response represents the result of one or more instances of the resource.
- 3xx Redirection. These codes show that further action needs to be taken to complete the request.
- 300 Multiple Choice: The request has more than one possible response. The user agent or server should choose one.
- 301 Moved Permanently: The requested resource has been permanently moved to a new location.
- 302 Found: The requested resource is temporarily located at a different URI.
- 303 See Other: The user agent should retrieve the target resource through a GET request.
- 304 Not Modified: The resource has not been modified since the last request.
- 305 Use Proxy: The requested resource must be accessed through a proxy.
- 306 Switch Proxy: This code was used in an earlier version of HTTP and is no longer used.
- 307 Temporary Redirect: The requested resource is temporarily located at a different URI.
- 308 Permanent Redirect: The requested resource has been permanently moved to a new location.
- 4xx Client Error. These codes show that the client has made an error in the request.
- 400 Bad Request: The server cannot process the request due to malformed syntax.
- 401 Unauthorized: The request requires user authentication.
- 402 Payment Required: The request requires payment.
- 403 Forbidden: The server understands the request but refuses to fulfil it.
- 404 Not Found: The requested resource could not be found.
- 405 Method Not Allowed: The method specified in the request is not allowed for the resource.
- 406 Not Acceptable: The resource can generate several different representations, but none of them are acceptable to the client.
- 407 Proxy Authentication Required: The client must authenticate itself with the proxy.
- 408 Request Timeout: The client did not produce a request within the server’s timeout period.
- 409 Conflict: The request could not be completed due to a conflict with the current resource state.
- 410 Gone: The resource is no longer available and will not be available again.
- 411 Length Required: The request must specify a Content-Length header field.
- 412 Precondition Failed: The precondition in the request header fields was evaluated as false.
- 413 Payload Too Large: The request entity is too large.
- 414 URI Too Long: The URI provided is too long.
- 415 Unsupported Media Type: The server cannot process the entity representation because it does not support the media type.
- 416 Range Not Satisfiable: The client has asked for a portion of the file that is not available.
- 417 Expectation Failed: The server cannot meet the requirements specified in the Expect header field.
- 418 I’m a Teapot: This is a humorous code not used in practice.
- 421 Misdirected Request: The request was directed to a server that cannot produce a response for that request.
- 422 Unprocessable Entity: The server understands the content type of the request entity, and the syntax is correct, but it was unable to process the contained instructions.
- 423 Locked: The resource that the request is acting on is locked.
- 424 Failed Dependency: The request failed because it depended on the completion of another failed request.
- 425 Too Early: The server is unwilling to process the request because its header fields indicate that the client should try again later.
- 426 Upgrade Required: The server requires the client to upgrade to a different protocol.
- 428 Precondition Required: The origin server requires the request to be conditional.
- 429 Too Many Requests: The user has sent too many requests in a given time.
- 431 Request Header Fields Too Large: The server is unwilling to process the request because the header fields are too large.
- 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons: The server denies access to the resource for a legal reason.
- 5xx Server Error. These codes show that the server encountered an error while processing the request.
- 500 Internal Server Error: The server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request.
- 501 Not Implemented: The server does not support the functionality required to fulfil the request.
- 502 Bad Gateway: While acting as a gateway or proxy, the server received an invalid response from an upstream server.
- 503 Service Unavailable: The server is currently unable to handle the request, but may be able to do so later.
- 504 Gateway Timeout: While acting as a gateway or proxy, the server did not receive a timely response from an upstream server.
- 505 HTTP Version Not Supported: The server does not support the HTTP protocol version used in the request.
- 506 Variant Also Negotiates: The server has an internal configuration error: variant negotiation for the requested resource is not supported.
- 507 Insufficient Storage: The server cannot store the representation needed to fulfil the request.
- 508 Loop Detected: The server detected an infinite loop while processing the request.
- 510 Not Extended: The server is unwilling to process the request because it requires extension mechanisms that have not been negotiated.
- 511 Network Authentication Required: The client must authenticate to gain network access.
Notes for Avoiding Panic
We have listed all the error codes and learned about them. Try to read them calmly and identify the cause of the error.
- If you keep experiencing this issue on your own website, consulting a professional would be a good step to ensure optimal performance.
- If you encounter this issue on someone else’s website, reaching out to their developer can help them resolve it and improve their site’s performance.
Let’s make the web a better place by helping each other!
If you happen to experience this issue and need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll do our best to help you out!
