🚦 HTTP Status Code Checker
By Shihab Mia · Updated 2026-07-29
Enter any http or https URL. We follow redirects and report the final status.
Press Check status to look up the HTTP status code for the URL above. Nothing is requested until you click, and your URL is only used for this lookup.
This http status code checker tells you the exact HTTP status code a URL returns, such as 200, 301, 404 or 503, along with its category, status text, whether it redirected, the final URL and the key response headers. Enter an address, click the button, and the tool fetches the page server-side and reports what the server actually said. It is a fast way to confirm a page is live, spot a broken link, or trace a redirect before it costs you rankings.
What is the HTTP Status Code Checker?
An HTTP status code is the three-digit number a web server sends back at the top of every response to tell the browser, or a crawler, what happened with the request. When you load a page that works, the server quietly returns 200 OK. When a page has moved, it returns a 301 or 302 redirect. When the page does not exist, it returns 404 Not Found, and when the server itself fails, it returns a 5xx code. You never normally see these numbers because the browser handles them for you, but they are the single most important signal for diagnosing why a page does or does not behave the way you expect. An http status code checker simply surfaces that hidden number so you can read it directly, without opening developer tools or installing a browser extension.
Status codes are grouped into five ranges, and the first digit tells you the family. 1xx codes are informational and rare. 2xx codes mean success: the request was received and the server returned what you asked for. 3xx codes mean redirection: the resource lives somewhere else and the server is pointing you there. 4xx codes mean a client error: something about the request was wrong, most commonly that the page is missing (404), access is forbidden (403), or you are sending requests too fast (429 Too Many Requests). 5xx codes mean a server error: the request was fine but the server could not fulfil it, such as 500 Internal Server Error, 502 Bad Gateway or 503 Service Unavailable. This http status code checker reads the first digit and labels the result with the matching color so you can tell at a glance whether a response is healthy.
Redirects deserve special attention because they are where SEO problems hide. A single 301 redirect from an old URL to a new one is fine and passes ranking signals. The trouble starts with redirect chains (A points to B, which points to C) and redirect loops (A points to B, which points back to A). Each hop adds latency and can dilute or lose link equity, and search engines may stop following long chains entirely. Because the checker follows redirects and reports the final URL, you can see immediately whether a link lands where you intended or bounces through several hops first, and how many redirects it took to get there.
Response headers are the other half of the picture. Alongside the status line, every server sends metadata such as content-type (what kind of file it is), server (the software handling the request), cache-control (how long the response may be cached), retry-after (how long to wait before retrying a busy or overloaded server) and, on a redirect, location (where it is sending you). These headers explain a great deal: a page that returns 200 but with the wrong content-type can render as plain text, a missing cache-control header can hurt performance, and a retry-after value tells crawlers exactly when to come back after a 503. The http status code checker lists these headers in a compact table so you do not have to open developer tools or inspect network requests manually.
The reason any of this matters for search is that crawlers treat status codes as instructions. Googlebot indexes 200 pages, follows 301 redirects and consolidates signals onto the target, drops 404 pages from the index over time, and retries 5xx pages but treats persistent server errors as a reliability problem that can slow crawling of the whole site. A page you think is live might secretly be returning a soft 404, a 302 where you meant a 301, an intermittent 503 during peak traffic, or a 403 served only to bots by an overzealous firewall or CDN rule. Checking the real status code, using the same kind of server-side request a search engine makes, is the only way to be sure, and doing it regularly catches problems before they erode traffic.
This http status code checker runs the lookup on our server rather than in your browser. Browsers block cross-origin requests, so a purely client-side checker cannot read another site's status or headers at all, and fetching server-side means the tool reports the raw response a crawler would see rather than a cached or browser-modified one. It is built for checking one URL at a time in detail; if you need to test dozens or hundreds of URLs at once for a full site audit, pair this tool with your crawler's bulk export and spot-check the interesting ones here.
When to use it
- Confirming a newly published page actually returns 200 OK and is reachable by crawlers, not accidentally blocked or broken.
- Diagnosing a broken link by checking whether it returns 404 Not Found, 403 Forbidden or a 5xx server error.
- Tracing where an old URL redirects to and confirming it lands on the right page in a single 301 hop, not a chain.
- Verifying that a migration or domain move uses permanent 301 redirects rather than temporary 302 ones that do not pass full ranking signals.
- Spotting intermittent 503 Service Unavailable errors or WAF-triggered 403 responses on a page that loads fine in the browser but fails for crawlers.
- Reading the response headers, such as content-type, cache-control and retry-after, to debug rendering, caching or downtime issues without opening developer tools.
How to use the HTTP Status Code Checker
- Type or paste the full URL you want to test into the input box. The field is pre-filled with https://google.com as an example.
- Click the Check status button. The tool then requests the page server-side and waits for the real response.
- Read the large status code and its colored category badge: green for 2xx success, blue for 3xx redirect, amber for 4xx client error and red for 5xx server error.
- Check the redirect line to see whether the URL redirected and, if so, what the final URL was.
- Scan the response headers table for content-type, server, cache-control and other key fields, and use the copy buttons to save the result or the headers.
- Change the URL and click again to check another page. Nothing is requested until you click, so the tool never wastes a lookup on page load.
Formula & method
Worked examples
You publish a new blog post and want to confirm it is live and crawlable before submitting it to Google.
- Paste the post URL into the http status code checker and click Check status.
- The tool returns 200 with a green "2xx Success" badge and the status text OK.
- The redirect line reads "No redirect", confirming the URL resolves directly with no intermediate hops.
Result: A 200 OK with no redirect means the page is live and ready to be indexed exactly at that URL.
An old product page was moved and you want to verify the redirect is permanent and lands on the right page.
- Enter the old URL and click Check status.
- The checker follows the redirect and reports the final URL of the new product page.
- The "redirected" flag is true and the final URL matches the intended destination, so the move was set up correctly.
Result: The URL redirects to the correct new page. If the final URL were wrong or the chain had several hops, you would fix the redirect rule.
A reader reports a dead link in your menu and you need to identify the exact failure.
- Paste the linked URL into the url status code checker and run it.
- The tool returns 404 with an amber "4xx Client error" badge and the status text Not Found.
- You confirm the page genuinely does not exist, rather than being a server outage or a forbidden response.
Result: A 404 Not Found tells you the target page is gone. You either restore the page or repoint the link and, if it had inbound value, add a 301 redirect.
Your site sits behind Cloudflare or another WAF and you suspect it is blocking search crawlers while looking fine to human visitors.
- Paste the affected URL into the http status code checker and click Check status.
- The tool returns 403 Forbidden even though the same page loads normally in your own browser.
- You check the response headers for a challenge or security header, confirming the block happens at the firewall before the request reaches your server.
Result: A 403 that only shows up server-side, not in your browser, points to a firewall or bot-management rule blocking crawlers. You adjust the rule to allow verified search bots.
HTTP status code categories at a glance
| Range | Category | Meaning | Common example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1xx | Informational | Request received, the server is continuing the process | 100 Continue |
| 2xx | Success | The request succeeded and the content was returned | 200 OK |
| 3xx | Redirect | The resource has moved; follow the new location | 301 Moved Permanently |
| 4xx | Client error | Something about the request was wrong or not allowed | 404 Not Found |
| 5xx | Server error | The request was valid but the server failed to respond | 500 Internal Server Error |
Common HTTP status codes and what they mean for SEO
| Code | Status text | What it means | SEO impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | OK | The page loaded successfully | Indexable, the healthy default |
| 301 | Moved Permanently | The URL has permanently moved | Passes ranking signals to the new URL |
| 302 | Found | A temporary redirect | Use only for temporary moves; prefer 301 for permanent ones |
| 304 | Not Modified | The cached copy is still valid | Saves bandwidth, no negative impact |
| 401 | Unauthorized | Authentication is required | Not indexed; page is gated |
| 403 | Forbidden | Access is denied | Not crawlable; check permissions or firewall rules |
| 404 | Not Found | The page does not exist | Dropped from the index over time |
| 410 | Gone | The page is permanently removed | Removed faster than a 404 |
| 429 | Too Many Requests | The client sent too many requests too fast | Can throttle crawling if it hits Googlebot |
| 500 | Internal Server Error | A generic server failure | Crawlers retry, then treat it as a reliability issue |
| 502 | Bad Gateway | An upstream server or proxy sent an invalid response | Usually a backend or CDN configuration fault |
| 503 | Service Unavailable | The server is temporarily overloaded or down | Use for planned downtime so crawlers retry later |
| 504 | Gateway Timeout | An upstream server took too long to respond | Points to slow backend, database or origin server |
Full list of HTTP status codes by range
| Code | Name | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Continue | 1xx Informational |
| 101 | Switching Protocols | 1xx Informational |
| 103 | Early Hints | 1xx Informational |
| 200 | OK | 2xx Success |
| 201 | Created | 2xx Success |
| 202 | Accepted | 2xx Success |
| 204 | No Content | 2xx Success |
| 206 | Partial Content | 2xx Success |
| 300 | Multiple Choices | 3xx Redirect |
| 301 | Moved Permanently | 3xx Redirect |
| 302 | Found | 3xx Redirect |
| 303 | See Other | 3xx Redirect |
| 304 | Not Modified | 3xx Redirect |
| 307 | Temporary Redirect | 3xx Redirect |
| 308 | Permanent Redirect | 3xx Redirect |
| 400 | Bad Request | 4xx Client error |
| 401 | Unauthorized | 4xx Client error |
| 402 | Payment Required | 4xx Client error |
| 403 | Forbidden | 4xx Client error |
| 404 | Not Found | 4xx Client error |
| 405 | Method Not Allowed | 4xx Client error |
| 408 | Request Timeout | 4xx Client error |
| 409 | Conflict | 4xx Client error |
| 410 | Gone | 4xx Client error |
| 413 | Payload Too Large | 4xx Client error |
| 414 | URI Too Long | 4xx Client error |
| 415 | Unsupported Media Type | 4xx Client error |
| 422 | Unprocessable Entity | 4xx Client error |
| 429 | Too Many Requests | 4xx Client error |
| 451 | Unavailable For Legal Reasons | 4xx Client error |
| 500 | Internal Server Error | 5xx Server error |
| 501 | Not Implemented | 5xx Server error |
| 502 | Bad Gateway | 5xx Server error |
| 503 | Service Unavailable | 5xx Server error |
| 504 | Gateway Timeout | 5xx Server error |
| 505 | HTTP Version Not Supported | 5xx Server error |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trusting the browser instead of the status code. A page can look fine in your browser while a crawler receives a 404 or 503. The browser may be loading a cached copy or rendering an error page that still returns the wrong code. Always read the real status code with a status code checker.
- Using a 302 where you mean a 301. A 302 is a temporary redirect and does not reliably pass ranking signals. For a permanent move, use a 301. Checking the code after a migration catches this before it costs you traffic.
- Ignoring redirect chains. One redirect is fine; three or four in a row add latency and can lose link equity. Because the tool reports the final URL, you can tell whether a link lands directly or bounces through several hops.
- Treating a soft 404 as a real page. Some sites return a 200 status on a "page not found" message instead of a true 404. Search engines see a thin or duplicate page rather than a clear signal to drop it. The status code reveals the mismatch.
- Leaving removed pages as 404 forever. A 404 lingers in the index. For content that is truly gone for good, a 410 Gone is removed faster, and content with value should get a 301 to a relevant replacement.
- Confusing 502, 503 and 504 errors. These three server errors have different causes: 502 means an upstream server sent an invalid response, 503 means the server is temporarily overloaded or in maintenance, and 504 means an upstream server timed out. Treating them as the same problem wastes time chasing the wrong fix.
Glossary
- HTTP status code
- The three-digit number a server returns to describe the outcome of a request, such as 200, 301 or 404.
- Status text
- The short reason phrase that accompanies a status code, for example OK for 200 or Not Found for 404.
- Redirect
- A 3xx response that points the request to a different URL. 301 is permanent and 302 is temporary.
- Final URL
- The address you actually land on after all redirects have been followed.
- Redirect chain
- A sequence of two or more redirects between the original URL and the final destination.
- Response header
- A line of metadata the server sends with the response, such as content-type, server or cache-control.
- Retry-After
- A response header, often sent with 503 or 429, that tells the client how many seconds to wait before trying again.
- Soft 404
- A missing page that incorrectly returns a 200 status instead of a true 404, confusing search engines.
Frequently asked questions
What is an http status code checker?
An http status code checker is a tool that fetches a URL and reports the HTTP status code the server returns, such as 200, 301, 404 or 503, along with the status text, any redirect, the final URL and the response headers. It lets you see what a browser or crawler actually receives without opening developer tools.
How do I check the http status code of a URL?
Paste the full URL into the input above and click Check status. This status code checker requests the page server-side, follows any redirects, and shows the status code with a colored category badge, the status text, the final URL and a table of key response headers.
What do the different status code categories mean?
2xx codes mean success (the page loaded), 3xx codes mean a redirect (the page moved), 4xx codes mean a client error such as a missing or forbidden page, and 5xx codes mean a server error. The tool colors each result by category so you can read the outcome at a glance.
What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 301 is a permanent redirect and passes ranking signals to the new URL, so use it for permanent moves. A 302 is a temporary redirect that tells search engines the original URL will return, so it does not reliably consolidate signals. Use this redirect checker to confirm which one a URL returns.
What is the difference between a 401 and a 403 error?
401 Unauthorized means the request needs valid authentication credentials that were missing or wrong. 403 Forbidden means the server understood who you are but is refusing access regardless, often due to permissions or a firewall rule. Checking the exact code tells you whether to fix a login issue or a permissions or WAF rule.
What is the difference between a 502, 503 and 504 error?
502 Bad Gateway means an upstream server or proxy sent back an invalid response. 503 Service Unavailable means the server is temporarily overloaded or down for maintenance, often on purpose. 504 Gateway Timeout means an upstream server took too long to respond. All three point to server-side problems, but the fix is different for each.
Why does a page show 200 in my browser but the checker shows a different code?
Browsers cache responses and may render an error page that still returns 200, while a server-side check sees the raw response a crawler gets. Differences usually point to a caching issue, a soft 404, an intermittent server error, or a firewall serving different responses to bots than to browsers. The server-side result is the one search engines act on.
Can this website status code checker follow redirects?
Yes. The tool follows redirects and reports both whether the URL redirected and the final URL it resolved to. That lets you confirm a link lands where you intended and spot redirect chains that add latency or lose link equity.
What response headers does the http response code checker show?
It lists the key headers first, including content-type, server, content-length, cache-control, date, retry-after and, on a redirect, location, followed by the rest of the headers the server returned. You can copy the full header list with one click.
Does a 404 hurt my SEO?
A 404 itself is normal and expected for pages that do not exist; search engines simply drop them from the index over time. The risk is leaving valuable, previously ranking URLs as 404s with no redirect, which loses their accumulated signals. Use a 301 to a relevant page when content has a successor.
Can I check any website with the url status code checker, and is it free?
Yes, the checker is completely free with no signup, and you can check any public http or https URL. Pages that require login or that block automated requests may return a 401, 403 or similar code, which is itself useful information. Internal addresses on a private network are not reachable from our server. We do not store the URLs you check; each lookup is used only to return your result, and nothing is requested until you click.