What types of HTTP codes are there?

A correct understanding of how each of the HTTP status codes works is essential for every user (beginner or expert) who has a website.

Why? Because these codes allow the performance of a specific portal to be improved. Therefore, it is important to know the type of communication used between server and client.

Main types of HTTP codes

There are many types of HTTP status codes, because these are the ones that inform the webmaster about errors. Although there are a large number of HTTP codes, as in many circumstances, there are some that are more relevant than others, and although you can find more than 10 different HTTP status codes the most common ones are:

– 1XX.
– 2XX.
– 3XX.
– 4XX.
– 5XX.

These have a utility that sets them apart from the rest, and they also have a reason why they are so prevalent. As they are the most common, it is necessary to know them, since the probabilities of encountering one of them are high.

This type of code is of vital importance to understand the functioning of a website. In fact, focused on SEO, in an SEO audit it is essential to know all types of status codes to know what problems the website in question may have.

Meaning of each of the HTTP codes

As we have mentioned before, every webmaster should know about the meaning of these codes, and in case you are new to the digital world, it will also be useful to know them.

1XX

The most frequent error is 1XX, which is useful because it is a type of HTTP status code that provides informative reports of a certain situation. They are usually displayed when the server has already received the information or request from a client (user).

There are variations of the 1XX code, including terminals 100, 101 and 102. Each of these means a different response from the server.

Usually code 100 means that the server has already received the user’s request and is loading the request headers, and then displaying the body or structure of the URL as a response.

On the other hand, we find the HTTP 101 code, which implies that the server accepts the request for changes in the browser. And to conclude, the last of the most common of the 1XX is 102. These are useful to the browser, since they indicate that the server is processing a request that has not been completed.

The latter arises to prevent the request from being lost when there is no direct response between client and server.

2XX

The HTTP 2XX code indicates that everything is in order because the request was received, accepted or processed. In most cases the most frequent variations of the 2XX codes are:

• 200: The page requested to be loaded has been displayed correctly.
• 201: The request has been successfully completed and a new resource could be created without difficulty.
• 202: This indicates that there is a restriction that prevents the upload from being completed; however, the request to the server has already been approved.
• 203: Indicates that the request to load a URL has been completed successfully, however, they usually end up redirecting to an unwanted source or from another server.

3XX

Generally the HTTP 3XX code is used to redirect the request from the server to another server. However, it is not recommended that it be applied constantly by the client or user-admin, as it could cause the request to be in an infinite loop; something that can be really stressful.

There are several types of these HTTP codes, we find the 300, 301, 302 Found. Each of them has very similar characteristics, although it is obvious that they have variations.

However, here is a guide to 301 redirects for SEO that will help you better understand this response code.

4XX

The HTTP status code 4XX is one of the most frequent, and generally indicates errors in the request made. It is worth noting that these codes reveal that there is an error on the page that prevents access to the page or simply blocks the request made.

As in the previous codes, the 4XX also has variations, however, one of the most frequent and detested by webmasters is the 404. However, it is also possible to find the following versions: 400, 401, 402, 403, 408, among others.

• Code 400 is a frequent error that can be encountered when a piece of information was public, but then completely removed from the server.
• On the other hand, the 401 code is also found in the “error code” list, although it is simply a restriction that prevents access to a certain page. This opens a pop-up window requesting a password and user name.
• 403 is an error that is displayed on pages that have restricted content, and when trying to access it, permission is denied. In most cases, these types of sites require registration or payment of a subscription to access the content.
• Finally, the 404 or “Page not found”, as its name suggests, means that the file, page or URL has not been found. This suggests that the page or file being requested is not on the server.

5XX

Generally, HTTP 5XX status code errors are generated by an external problem that is not directly related to the page. These are caused by errors in the server on which a website is hosted. Therefore, in these cases, the most recommended thing to do is to contact the hosting technical support directly to solve the problem.

The most common are 500, 503 and 504. As you can imagine, each one has different meanings, the 500 indicates that the server has not been able to generate the HTML code to respond to the user’s request.

On the other hand, the HTTP status code 503 indicates that the server is under maintenance or unavailable. And finally, the 504 code reveals that the request has timed out.

Now you know which types of HTTP codes occur most frequently and you know what causes them to occur.