Identifying common errors
This article will help you to recognise and understand many of the common webpage errors you may encounter.
When you experience an error on a webpage, you’ll typically be given a 3-digit number that represents what type of error it is. Here’s what each one means and how you can fix them:
400 — Bad Request
This is usually caused by programming problems, as it means that the web server cannot process your request due to a client error such as uploading files that are too large or sending deceptive request routing information.
To resolve this issue, you should get in touch with your developer or software provider.
401 — Authentication Required
This page requires a username and password to access it, which has not been provided.
403 — Forbidden
This occurs when you attempt to access a directory or file without the necessary permissions, or if you are attempting to perform a prohibited action.
404 — Not Found
This means that the URL you have entered doesn’t exist, which could be due to missing files or the page being deleted.
500 — Internal Server Error
This is a generic error that means there’s a problem with the website you’re trying to visit. It may be due to a large amount of people visiting the website at once. If this is the case, simply wait a few minutes and reload the page.
If this error persists though, you’ll need to review your Apache error logs to find out the source of this error.
For more information, check out the list of status code definitions at W3.org.