HTTP Status Codes Cheat Sheet: Your 2024 Crash Course + Free PDF

If you’ve spent enough time browsing the web, chances are you have encountered an HTTP status code or two in your lifetime. However, while most of us can simply go about our day after encountering an HTTP status code, knowing the meaning behind the code is essential for SEO professionals and website owners.

A well-optimized website and fast loading time are key factors when trying to rank high, and you might have a hard time achieving that if your website is experiencing too many errors. To help you out, SerpWatch has created an HTTP status codes cheat sheet you can download and use to identify and fix errors quickly.

Download HTTP Status Codes Cheat Sheet as PDF for FREE

What Are HTTP Status Codes?

Whenever you are using a search engine to browse the web, you, the client, are sending requests to websites, or in technical terms, the servers. To do that, you are using something known as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or rather HTTP.

Servers communicate to browsers via HTTP status codes and use the HTTP protocol to confirm everything is working properly or display an error if there is one. In other words, an HTTP status code is a server’s response to a browser’s request.

How Many HTTP Status Codes Are There in Total?

There are 500 HTTP status codes in total. Status codes begin with code 100 and end with code 599. However, most of these codes are still unassigned, and there are only 63 assigned HTTP codes. Furthermore, there are also several codes that are either no longer used or have been deprecated due to security concerns, such as code 305, for example.

If you are serious about SEO and wish your website to thrive, you should regularly check your website for errors. In today’s time, most websites are published via WordPress, and as many as 500,000 new websites go live every single day.

In other words, the competition is fierce, and your website may underperform compared to thousands of other websites that are properly optimized.

Five Different Types of Status Codes

All HTTP status codes are split into five categories, ranging from 100-199, 200-299, 300-399, 400-499, and 500-599. The first number in each range indicates the class of the response, and the last two digits are used to specify the request or the error. Here’s the breakdown of our HTTP Status Codes Cheat Sheet.

Informational Requests: 1XX

Codes in this range refer to an informational response and indicate that the server received and understood the request.

100 Continue

The code indicates that the server has received the request headers and that the client should continue to request body or ignore the response if the request is already finished.

101 Switching Protocols

The client requested from the server to switch protocols, and the code indicates the protocol the server is switching to.

102 Processing (WebDAV)

The server has received and is processing the request, but it requires a long time to complete the request, so no response is available yet.

103 Early Hints

The 103 code is used to return some response headers while the server prepares a response.

Successful Requests: 2XX

The 200-299 range indicates HTTP success codes. In other words, it means that the action requested by the client was received, understood, and accepted by the server.

200 OK

Server code 200 means that the request is successful. However, the response will depend on the request method and whether the client made a GET, HEAD, PUT/POST, or TRACE request.

201 Created

The request was successful, and a new resource was created as a result.

202 Accepted

The request was received, but the processing has not been completed.

203 Non-Authoritative Information

The server received a 200 OK from its origin but acts as a proxy, and the returned metadata is collected from a local or a third-party copy.

204 No Content

The 204 response status code indicates that the server processed the request, but there is no content to send for this request.

205 Reset Content

The server has processed the request and is telling the client to reset the document that sent the request.

206 Partial Content

The server is sending only part of the resource.

207 Multi-Status (WebDAV)

Notifies about multiple resources and is used when a message contains multiple separate response codes.

208 Already Reported

The members of DAV binding are not included again since they have been enumerated in the preceding part of the response.

226 IM Used

The 226 response status code indicates the server fulfilled the request for the resource, and the response represents the result of one or more instance-manipulations that are applied to the current instance.

Redirection: 3XX

As the name suggests, the codes in this range are used to indicate that the client is redirected.

300 Multiple Choice

This indicates that there are multiple options for the request and that the client should choose one.

301 Moved Permanently

The original URL has been permanently moved, and the server responds with the new URL.

302 Found

The URL of the requested resource has been temporarily changed, and the client should browse to another URL.

303 See Other

The response indicates the client should request resources at another URI with a GET request.

304 Not Modified

The resource has not been modified, and the client can use the same cached version of the response.

305 Use Proxy

The requested resource is only available through a proxy. However, many HTTP clients do not obey the 305 status code because of security concerns regarding the in-band configuration of a proxy.

306 Switch Proxy

The status code is no longer used, but it is reserved.

307 Temporary Redirect

The server directs the client to request the resource at another URL with the same method used in the prior request.

308 Permanent Redirect

The resource is permanently moved to another URI, and all future requests should be directed to the given URI. However, the client must not change the HTTP method used in the prior request.

Client Errors: 4XX

The 400 to 499 codes range indicates there is something wrong on the client’s side. It can also refer to an error caused by the client.

400 Bad Request

The server could not understand the request due to client errors, such as malformed request syntax, deceptive request routing, or invalid request message framing.

401 Unauthorized

The 401 error status code indicates the client needs to authenticate itself before getting the requested response.

402 Payment Required

This response code is reserved for future use. The code was originally planned to be used for digital payment systems.

403 Forbidden

The client doesn’t have the right to access the requested resources. However, unlike with the 401 status code, the client’s identity is known to the server.

404 Not Found

The 404 error is perhaps one of the best-known HTTP status codes on our cheat sheet PDF file. It indicates that the requested content is not found but may be available in the future, and the subsequent requests by the client are permitted.

405 Method Not Allowed

The request method is known to the server but not allowed. For example, if the client requests a form that requires data to be presented via POST.

406 Not Acceptable

The requested resources can only generate content not acceptable to the Accept headers sent in the request.

407 Proxy Authentication Required

The client must authenticate itself via proxy.

408 Request Timeout

The server timed out waiting for the request from the client, which is most likely caused by an idle connection.

409 Conflict

The 409 HTTP response indicates the request cannot be processed because it conflicts with the current state of resources at the server. This occurs when there is an edit conflict between multiple simultaneous updates.

410 Gone

The resource is gone and will no longer be available.

411 Length Required

The server rejected the request because the request doesn’t specify the content length, which is required by the server.

412 Precondition Failed

The server does not meet preconditions requested by the client on the request header fields.

413 Payload Too Large

The 413 error status code indicates that the request is too large for the server to process.

414 URI Too Long

The server is not willing to interpret the URI requested by the client because the URI is too long.

415 Unsupported Media Type

The server rejected the request because the media format of the requested data is not supported by the server.

416 Range Not Satisfiable

The server cannot provide the portion of the file requested by the client.

417 Expectation Failed

The requirements of the Expect request-header field cannot be met by the server.

418 I’m a teapot

The server does not want to brew coffee with a teapot. Unlike other codes on our server cheat sheet, the 418 code is only used as an Easter egg on some websites and was defined as an April Fools’ joke.

421 Misdirected Request

The request was directed to a server that is unable to produce a response.

422 Unprocessable Entity (WebDAV)

The request is not able to be followed because of semantic errors, even though the request was well-formed.

423 Locked (WebDAV)

The resource the client is trying to access is locked.

424 Failed Dependency (WebDAV)

The 424 status code means the request is not successful because it depends on another request that failed.

425 Too Early

The server is unwilling to process a request because the request might be replayed.

426 Upgrade Required

The server is unwilling to process the request using the current protocol but might do so if the client upgrades to a different protocol.

428 Precondition Required

The origin server requires the request to be conditional.

429 Too Many Requests

The 429 error status code indicates the client has sent too many requests in a short amount of time.

431 Request Header Fields Too Large

The server is unwilling to process the request because all header fields combined or an individual header field are too large.

451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons

The client has requested a resource that cannot be provided legally, which can occur due to government censorship, copyright or privacy violation, and more.

Server Errors: 5XX

Out of all HTTP error codes, the 5XX codes are perhaps most relevant for anyone working on a website. Codes in this range indicate a client made a valid request, but the error occurred on the server’s side, and the server is incapable of performing the request.

500 Internal Server Error

A generic server error message is displayed when no more specific message is suitable.

501 Not Implemented

The server cannot handle the request because the request method is not supported by the server.

502 Bad Gateway

The server received an invalid response from the upstream server while acting as a proxy or a gateway.

503 Service Unavailable

The server cannot process the request because it is either overloaded or offline for maintenance.

504 Gateway Timeout

The 504 error status code indicates the server didn’t receive a timely response from the upstream server while acting as a proxy or a gateway.

505 HTTP Version Not Supported

The server does not support the HTTP version used in the request.

506 Variant Also Negotiates

The server has an internal configuration error, and the chosen variant resource is not a proper endpoint in the negotiation process.

507 Insufficient Storage (WebDAV)

The server cannot store the representation needed to complete the request.

508 Loop Detected

The server detected an infinite loop while processing a request.

510 Not Extended

The 510 error status code signifies the server requires further extensions to the request in order to fulfill the request.

511 Network Authentication Required

The client needs to authenticate itself to access the network.

The Takeaway

As you can see, there are a lot of different codes to learn when working on a website. However, the HTTP status codes cheat sheet we’ve included should make your life a little bit easier. It can help you improve the performance of your website, and you should use it to detect and fix errors whenever you are running maintenance.

In addition to the cheat sheet, we also have a SERP checker tool you can use to monitor global and local ranking performance, track and analyze keywords, and much more. By combining it with regular maintenance and ensuring your website is error-free, you can significantly improve your website’s performance and the chance to rank high in the SERPs.