May 2015 Tech Tips – HTTP Error 400 Codes

Here’s your quick Tech Tip for the month of May to help you be more productive. As always, reach out anytime! We are here to help.

The internet is composed of an infinite amount of webpages – leaving an infinite amount of room for mistakes. We have all either clicked on a link, or typed in a URL address, only to arrive at an “HTTP Error” page instead of our desired destination. But what do those error messages and codes really mean, and what causes them? We have highlighted the most common error codes, and their causes below:

HTTP Error 400 – Bad Request
When a request that is distorted, or incorrect, is sent to a website server, the HTTP Status Code 400 error message will appear. A request can be anything from clicking a page’s “Refresh” button, to clicking a link. The most common cause for one of these errors is an incorrectly typed URL.

HTTP Error 401 – Unauthorized
When credentials are required to view a webpage, which have yet to be entered or issued, the HTTP Status Code 401 error message will appear. If credentials have already been entered, and the error code continues to appear, the login information provided is invalid, or has been granted insufficient permissions.

HTTP Error 403 – Forbidden
When attempting to visit a webpage that has specifically been deemed as “off limits”, the HTTP Status Code 403 error message will appear. The most common occurrence of this error code is after attempting to visit a website that has been blocked by
employer or educational administration.

HTTP Error 404 – Page Not Found
When the website you are trying to visit cannot be found, the HTTP Status Code 404 error message will appear. In most instances, the cause of this error code is because a web address has been modified, moved, or removed. Similar to 400, this error message can also be the result of typing in an incorrect URL.

HTTP Error 408 – Request Timeout
When a request to load a webpage has timed out, the HTTP Status Code 408 error message will appear. This means that the submitted request has exceeded the amount of time that the server was prepared to wait while processing. The most common cause for this error message is a slow internet connection.

Another important fact to keep in mind, is that these error codes can begin with any number from 1-5. The above mentioned, and all other codes beginning with the number 4, are classified as “Client Error” Status Codes – meaning that the web surfer is presumably at fault, opposed to the webpage.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!