Understanding HTTP status codes can help you troubleshoot errors, improve your website's performance, and become a more informed internet user.
- Understanding HTTP Status Code Ranges: HTTP status codes are grouped into five ranges (1xx, 2xx, 3xx, 4xx, 5xx) to indicate the nature of the server's response to a client's request.
- Importance of Specific Status Codes: While there are numerous status codes, remembering key codes within each range is crucial for developers to understand the outcome of their requests and handle them appropriately.
- Practical Applications of Status Codes: Status codes inform client-side logic (like error handling and retry mechanisms), enabling developers to build more robust and user-friendly applications.
Let's break down the five main categories of HTTP status codes:
1xx (Informational): Indicates the server is processing the request.
- 100 (Continue): Server received the request headers and is ready for more data.
- 101 (Switching Protocols): Server agrees to switch protocols as requested by the client, like from HTTP to WebSockets, for a more interactive experience.
2xx (Success): Indicates the request was successfully received, understood, and accepted.
- 200 (OK): Request was successful, and the response body contains the requested data.
- 201 (Created): Request was successful, and a new resource was created.
- 202 (Accepted): Request was accepted for processing, but processing is not yet complete (asynchronous tasks).
- 204 (No Content): Request was successful, but the response body is intentionally empty (e.g. DELETE request).
- 206 (Partial Content): The server is sending back only part of the requested resource, often used for large file downloads to break them into smaller chunks.
3xx (Redirection): Indicates further action needs to be taken to complete the request, usually involving redirecting to another URL.
- 301 (Moved Permanently): The resource you're looking for has moved to a new location permanently. This helps search engines update their indexes.
- 302 (Found/Temporary Redirect): Resource has temporarily moved to a new location.
- 307 (Temporary Redirect): Similar to 302, but it preserves the original request method (like GET or POST).
- 308 (Permanent Redirect): Similar to 301, but also preserves the request method.
4xx (Client Error): Indicates the client made an error, such as requesting a non-existent resource or providing incorrect credentials.
- 400 (Bad Request): You sent a request that the server couldn't understand, like invalid data or incorrect syntax.
- 401 (Unauthorized): You need to log in or provide credentials to access this resource.
- 403 (Forbidden): Client is authenticated but does not have permission to access the requested resource.
- 404 (Not Found): Requested resource cannot be found on the server.
- 405 (Method Not Allowed): You're trying to use an HTTP method (like POST) that's not supported for this resource.
5xx (Server Error): Indicates the server failed to fulfill a valid request due to an internal error.
- 500 (Internal Server Error): A general error occurred on the server.
- 502 (Bad Gateway): The server, acting as a gateway or proxy, received an invalid response from an upstream server.
- 503 (Service Unavailable): The server is temporarily down for maintenance or overloaded.
- 504 (Gateway Timeout): The server, acting as a gateway or proxy, didn't receive a timely response from an upstream server.
- 507 (Insufficient Storage): The server doesn't have enough storage space to process your request.
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