HTTP Status Codes Explained: What Website Owners Need to Check

When you open a web page, your browser requests it from a server. The server responds with an HTTP status code: a number that indicates what happened to the request.

You usually do not see this number while browsing. A page may appear normally, send you to a different address, or show an error. Checking its status code helps you understand what the server is doing behind the scenes.

For website owners, this is especially useful after changing URLs, publishing new pages, or finding broken links.

The status codes you will see most often

HTTP status codes fall into groups. Successful responses begin with 2, redirects begin with 3, client errors begin with 4, and server errors begin with 5. Here are six common examples:

Code	Meaning	What to check
200	The request succeeded.	Confirm the page shows the content you intended.
301	The URL has moved permanently.	Confirm it redirects to the correct new URL.
302	The URL has moved temporarily.	Confirm the move really is temporary.
404	The requested resource was not found.	Check the URL and links pointing to it.
500	The server encountered an unexpected error.	Investigate the application or server logs.
503	The server is currently unavailable.	Check whether maintenance or an outage is in progress.

These codes describe the server’s response; they do not, by themselves, tell you whether a page is useful or should appear in search results. For example, a 200 response means the request succeeded, but it does not guarantee search indexing.

200: The page loaded successfully

A 200 OK response is what you generally expect from a working page. If you check a published article and receive 200, the server has successfully handled the request.

Still, open the page and look at it. A status checker cannot tell you whether the heading is correct, an image is missing, or the article contains outdated information. Pair the technical check with a quick review as a visitor.

301 and 302: The URL sends visitors elsewhere

A 301 signals a permanent move. If you replace an old article URL with a new one, a 301 redirect can send visitors to the replacement. A 302 signals a temporary move.

For either redirect, check the destination. Does it lead to the page a visitor expects? Does it send them through several other URLs first? Does it end on an error page?

When a page has moved permanently and has a clear replacement, Google recommends a permanent redirect to that replacement. Sending every missing URL to your homepage is less helpful than choosing a relevant destination for each moved page.

404: The requested page was not found

A 404 Not Found response means the server could not find the requested resource. This can happen when someone mistypes an address, follows an outdated link, or visits a page you removed.

A 404 is not automatically a problem. If a page was removed and has no replacement, the code may accurately describe the situation. But if an important page unexpectedly returns 404, investigate:

1. Is the URL spelled correctly?

2. Was the page moved to a new address?

3. Do menus or articles still link to the old address?

4. Was a publishing or routing change made recently?

A helpful custom 404 page can guide visitors back to useful content. Make sure it also returns an actual 404 status code, rather than displaying an error message with a 200 response.

500 and 503: The server has a problem

A 500 Internal Server Error means the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from completing the request. A 503 Service Unavailable means the server is not ready to handle the request at that time.

If you own the site, check whether the error affects one URL or many. Note when it happened, then inspect your application and server logs. If a change immediately preceded the errors, review that change first. Recheck the affected URLs after fixing the cause.

A practical checking routine

You do not need to scan every URL every day. Start with pages that matter most:

• Your homepage and main navigation links

• Newly published pages

• URLs you recently changed

• Important links in older articles

• Pages visitors report as broken

Enter a URL into an HTTP status code checker and read the response. If it redirects, use a redirect checker to inspect where it ends. Then open the final page in your browser to confirm that its content is right.

TempoDay’s HTTP Status Code Checker and Redirect Checker can help with the technical part of this review. The useful next step is always to act on what you find: repair a broken link, correct a redirect, or investigate a server error.

Final takeaway

HTTP status codes give you a quick view of how your website responds. A 200 usually means a successful request, 301 and 302 indicate redirects, 404 means a resource was not found, and 500 or 503 point to server trouble.

Check the code, inspect the actual page, and focus first on problems that affect the URLs your visitors use most.