HTTP Status Code Test

Bulk check HTTP Status code of multiple URLs at once. Check live responses across URLs — confirm 200 OK, catch redirect chains, and surface 4xx/5xx errors before users do.

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HTTP Status Codes

An HTTP Status Code is like a website’s “response signal.”

Just as a shopkeeper might tell you “We are open,” “We have moved,” or “Sorry, we are closed,” a webpage uses status codes to communicate what’s happening behind the scenes. These status codes help browsers, users, and search engines understand if a page is working, redirected, missing, or broken.

What is an HTTP Status code?

An HTTP Status Code is a 3-digit message sent by a web server when a browser or crawler tries to access a URL. It tells you whether the request was successful, redirected, denied, or failed.

Users won't see the HTTP status code when they are opening a URL on their browser. Either they will see the page load, or the page redirect, or see a 404 page or a broken page - depending on the status code of the URL they are trying to access. However, search engines can see HTTP status codes of a URL when trying to fetch the URL at their ens. Search engines rely heavily on status codes to decide how to crawl, index, and value your pages — making them essential for SEO, user experience, and technical site health.

How HTTP Status Codes Work?

Every time someone visits a webpage, the browser sends a request to the server. The server then replies with a status code such as:

  • 200 OK - The page loaded successfully.
  • 301 Moved Permanently - The page has a new permanent location.
  • 404 Not Found - The page doesn't exist.
  • 500 Internal Server Error - Something went wrong on the server.

Think of it as a short, coded conversation between your browser and the website. And this is also applicable to other user-agents who may try to fetch the page, for example - Googlebot, Yahoo bot, ChatGPT bot and other software who pay request to fetch your webpage at their end.

Why Do HTTP Status Codes Matter?

HTTP Status codes are important because they guide search engines. Search engines use http status codes to decide which pages can be crawled and indexed, which pages cannot be crawled and indexed and when the redirects of specific pages needs to be updated.

HTTP Status code also affects user experience since if many pages on your website are not returning the "200 OK" HTTP status code - it is either broken or not loading at the user's end properly. This will eventually lead to a poor user experience, user frustration, which in turn will affect your search rankings. Broken pages or endless redirect loop frustrates users and is not good for your website's reputation and branding in the long run.

Moreover, incorrect status codes (like using 302 instead of 301) can cause traffic loss, bad indexing, and duplicate content issues.

Do’s and Don’ts of HTTP Status Codes

Do’s

  1. Use 301 redirects for permanent page moves.
  2. Ensure important pages return 200 OK.
  3. Fix 404 errors for valuable or linked pages.
  4. Monitor 5xx errors regularly.
  5. Keep redirect chains to a minimum.

Dont’s

  1. Don’t use 302 redirects for permanent changes.
  2. Don’t leave broken links pointing to 404 pages.
  3. Don’t redirect everything to the homepage (bad for SEO).
  4. Don’t allow redirect chains like this - Page A - Page B - Page C.
  5. Don’t ignore intermittent server errors.

Good vs. Bad HTTP Status Code Practices

Good Examples
  • Page moved from /blog/old-post → /blog/new-post with a 301 redirect.
  • Deleted outdated content returning 410 Gone.
  • Product pages returning 200 when active and available.
  • Using a 302 only when a redirect truly is temporary.
Bad Examples
  • Using 302 redirect for URL change that is permanent in nature.
  • Returning 200 OK for error pages (fake 404s).
  • Letting users hit dead 404 pages without helpful navigation.
  • Allowing multiple redirect hops before the final page loads.

Conclusion

An HTTP Status Code is more than just a technical detail. It is the backbone of how webpages communicate with different user-agents such as browsers, crawlers, bots, scrapers and so on. When implemented correctly, status codes help search engines crawl efficiently, ensure users reach the right content, and maintain the overall health of your website. Monitoring and optimizing status codes is a fundamental part of any robust SEO and site maintenance strategy.

FAQs on HTTP Status Codes

200 OK is the most common HTTP status code. It means everything is working normally, users and search engines are able to see the pages content properly.

A 404 HTTP status code means - The page cannot be found or does not exist.

A 301 redirect is considered a good practice when you have moved a page to a new URL or address. It is considered good when the changes you have made are permanent in nature. However, please note that you should not use a chain of 301 redirects, that is considered not a good practice.

Yes, absolutely. Incorrect or inefficient status codes can harm rankings and indexing.

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