If you have been on the Internet for a while, there is a good chance that you have encountered a lot of bugs. While it’s impossible to avoid errors in general, it helps to understand what these errors mean and some basic steps to fix them.
Common Types of Online Errors
Most network errors are accompanied by an HTTP status code. Usually you see a 4XX or 5XX error — 4 or 5 followed by two extra digits like 404.
Both 4XX and 5XX are errors, but they have a significant difference. 4XX errors are client errors and 5XX errors are server errors. If you’re seeing a 4XX error, it’s most likely something you can fix.
5XX errors are server errors, which means you haven’t done anything wrong, but the server you’re trying to access is running. Regardless of the error, you you can follow a few steps that may help resolve the issue.
We have listed the most common online errors below and also mentioned a couple of helpful solutions for each error. You cannot solve all online errors; some happen on the server side and there’s not much you can do about them. However, that doesn’t stop you from trying.
400 Bad Request Error
Every time you open a website by entering a URL or clicking a link, your browser initiates a request and sends it to the server of the website you are trying to access. A 400 error occurs when the server cannot understand the request. This can happen if the request itself is corrupted, but most often it’s due to something as simple as requesting a URL that doesn’t exist.
Here are some ways in which you can solve the problem on your end:
Refresh the page: pressing F5 refreshes the page in most browsers. If the problem is related to a corrupted request, resubmitting the request can sometimes help.
Recheck URL- address: sometimes an invalid URL can cause a 400 Bad Request error instead of a 404 Not Found error (which we’ll also talk about in a moment).
Search for a page on a site. You or the site you clicked on may have the wrong URL, but that page exists somewhere on the site. Try to find the title of the article on the site.
Clear your browser’s cookies and cache: sometimes servers return 400 errors because they are trying to read cookies on your computer that are corrupt or too old. Clearing cache and cookies can help.
For an in-depth discussion of the causes and possible solutions for error 400, check out our detailed guide.
RELATED:What is a 400 Bad Request error (and how can I fix it)?
403 Forbidden
A 403 error occurs when you try to access a page or resource that you don’t have permission to access. Most of the time you can’t do much to fix the problem. Either you don’t have intentional access to this resource, or you don’t have access because someone made a mistake while setting permissions on the site.
However, there are some things you can try:
Refresh the page: pressing F5 refreshes the page in most browsers.
Recheck URL- address. Sometimes an invalid URL can cause a 403 Forbidden error. Make sure the URL points to a page and not a directory. Most websites restrict access to their folders for security reasons and this can be the cause of the 403 error.
Check your permissions. Some websites restrict access to their content to registered users or users with a certain level of access. If you’re not signed in or don’t have permission, you’ll most likely see a 403 Forbidden error.
For an in-depth discussion of the causes and possible solutions for the 403 error, check out our detailed guide.
RELATED:What is a 403 Forbidden Error (and how can I fix it)?
404 Not Found
The 404 Not Found error is the most common error on the web. This means that the server could not find the resource you were looking for. In most cases, you will get a 404 error because the URL you entered or clicked in your browser does not exist on the server.
Here’s what you can try:
Refresh the page: pressing F5 refreshes the page in most browsers. This usually doesn’t help with the 404 error, but it only takes a second to try.
Recheck URL- addresses. Incorrectly entered URLs (regardless of whether you typed them incorrectly or the web page contains an invalid link) are the most common cause of 404 errors.
Search for a page on a site. You (or the site you clicked on) may not have the correct URL, but that page exists somewhere on the site. Try to find the title of the article on the site.
For an in-depth discussion of the causes and possible solutions for the 404 error, check out our detailed guide.
RELATED:How to Fix 404 Not Found Error
internal server error 500
If you see a 500 Internal Server Error on a website, it usually means there is something wrong with the website. This also means that it is not a problem with your computer, browser, or internet connection.
As with the other problems we’ve discussed, there are only a few ways you can solve this problem:
Refresh the page: pressing F5 refreshes the page in most browsers. This usually won’t help with a 500 error, but it only takes a second to try.
Try later: often problems with the server are temporary. Try visiting the page again later in the day.
Contact site: If the issue persists, try contacting the site and letting them know what’s going on.
For an in-depth discussion of the causes and possible solutions for error 500, check out our detailed guide.
RELATED:What is an internal server error 500 and how to fix it?
502 Gateway error
A 502 Bad Gateway error means that the server you are visiting tried to get some information from another server, but received an invalid response. While the 502 error is not directly related to your computer, there are a few things you can try on your end:
Refresh the page: pressing F5 refreshes the page in most browsers. This usually won’t help with a 502 error, but it only takes a second to try. (Noticing a pattern here?)
Check if it works for other people: visit a site such as isitdownrightnow.com or downforeveryoneorjustme.com to see if other people are having problems accessing the site.
Try later: often problems with the server are temporary. Try visiting the page again later in the day.
Clear your browser’s cookies and cache: sometimes (though rarely) servers return 502 errors because your browser has cached outdated or corrupted files. Clearing cache and cookies can help.
For an in-depth discussion of the causes and possible solutions for error 502, check out our detailed guide.
RELATED:What is a 502 Bad Gateway error (and how can I fix it)?
503 Service unavailable error
A 503 Service Unavailable error means that the server cannot process the request. The error can appear for many reasons, but the most common reason is that the server is overloaded with requests. Similar to other 5XX errors, the 503 error also occurs on the server.
Here’s what you can try:
Refresh the page: pressing F5 refreshes the page in most browsers. This usually doesn’t help with the 503 error, but it only takes a second to try.
Check if it works for other people: visit a site such as isitdownrightnow.com or downforeveryoneorjustme.com to see if other people are having problems accessing the site.
Try later: server problems are often temporary. In particular, with a 503 error, it is possible that the server is overloaded with requests and cannot process the traffic it receives. Try visiting the page again later in the day.
For an in-depth discussion of the causes and possible solutions for error 502, check out our detailed guide.
CONNECTED:What is a 503 Service Not Available Error (And How Can I Fix It)?
