As a user, I didn't understand why I was getting an HTTP status code or what that meant.

So what's an HTTP status code?

HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. HTTP status codes are collections of numbers which describe what happens between the client and the server during the request process. Once you enter a request in your browser, the request is submitted to a web server to accept, process and return the information required.

Types of HTTP status codes

There are five classes of HTTP status codes

1xx Status Codes: Information Request
2xx Status Codes: Success
3xx Status Codes: Redirection
4xx Status Codes: Client Error
5xx Status Codes: Server Error

Many different error codes are available. Here is a list of the most popular ones you might find.

200 (Ok)
The HTTP client is not available to the users. A status code of 200 means that the request has been approved and that everything works well.
Unlike the 204 status code, a 200 response should include a response body.

204 (No Content)
The 204 status code is usually sent out in response to a PUT, POST,
or DELETE request when the REST API declines t
o send back any status message or representation in the response message’s body.

301 (Moved Permanently)
This basically means that the URL you want no longer exists, but the website has redirected it to a different page. You can set up a 301 redirect for a page that is no longer available.

302 (Found)
It is like a 301, but just a temporary redirect, not a permanent redirect. It leads customers from the old URL towards a new one, but it does not tell search engines to update the page index.

304 (Not Modified)
This status code shows that since the last time you accessed it, the URL you want has not been modified.

401 (Unauthorized)
This allows you to view the URL you were looking for. This occurs if a password is protected on a website. If you enter the wrong credentials, you would see this error.

403 (Forbidden)
A 403 status code means that there is a restricted access to the website. In other words the server has understood the request but is not going to fulfill it.

404 (Not Found)
The 404 error is one of the most frequent HTTP status codes. This means that the page is not available. This might occur if you remove a page, or it doesn't exist.

405 (Method Not Allowed)
The HTTP method of a page you're requesting has been rejected by your server. You can not access a URL on your web browser. As a marketer, you want to solve the problem quickly and to prevent loss of brand confidence.

406 (Not Acceptable)
An 406 error means that the server can not generate a URL-compatible response. This means the server will not be able to return the data as requested. If this error code appears, consider calling your developer or IT department to see it for you.

408 (Request Timeout)
An error code 408 means that the server has been timed out while waiting for a browser request. Typically, these are caused by wrong URL, slow links or connectivity problems. By testing the internet access and internet speed the users must solve these problems themselves.

410 (Gone)
This means the page was deleted permanently and no redirect was set up. You would need to delete all references and links from your content if 410 links exist on your site.

418 (I'm a teapot)
Well, thanks to an April Fools’ day joke in 1998, any attempt to brew coffee with a teapot should result in the error code "418 I'm a teapot". The resulting entity body may be short and stout. It is not expected to be implemented by actual HTTP servers.

429 (Too Many Requests)
Have you ever entered a URL, opened a new tab and typed into a new tab waiting for the first one to load? This will make a 429 error way too many times. This will lead to a 429 error too frequently.

500 (Internal Server Error)
These typically indicate a server problem, but the browser does not specify the cause of the problem.

502 (Bad Gateway)
This is a bad gateway error which indicates something went wrong with communication on the website's server. This may occur when the request takes too long or when the database link breaks.

504 (Gateway Timeout)
The 504 error code is when you are able to collect the information on the first server and send it to your browser before the second server.

To make the website more useful for both the search engines and users, you can run an HTTP status checker and fix the HTTP error :)