A website builder powers an online store and it is often inevitable to encounter HTTP codes.
Why is it important? HTTP codes are used to communicate the status of a website or when an error is encountered.
About HTTP Codes and Errors
401 Unauthorized
The server received an unauthenticated request, as indicated by a 401 message. A notice in this error states that the page was unable to load due to invalid credentials, for whatever reason.
Solution to 401 Unauthorized
It's possible that the URL for logging in has changed or that the URL you entered is invalid. If that's not the case, try deleting your browser's cookies and cache.
403 Forbidden error
When someone clicks your website link from your Facebook page usually means the web server is refusing access to the request coming from Facebook or from certain users. Common causes include:
1. Website Firewall or Security Rules
Many websites use services such as Cloudflare, web application firewalls (WAFs), or security plugins that may block Facebook's crawler or traffic.
Check:
Cloudflare Firewall Events
Hosting security logs
WordPress security plugins (Wordfence, iThemes Security, etc.)
ModSecurity rules on your hosting account
2. Facebook Crawler is Blocked
Facebook uses a crawler called facebookexternalhit to generate link previews. If your server blocks this crawler, Facebook may have trouble accessing your site.
Test your URL with Facebook's debugger:
Facebook Sharing Debugger
Paste your URL and see if Facebook reports access errors.
3. Hotlink or Referer Protection
Some hosting providers block requests when the visitor comes from another site (such as Facebook).
Check for:
Referer blocking rules
Hotlink protection settings
.htaccessrules that deny external referrals
4. Geographic or IP Blocking
Your server may be blocking certain countries, IP ranges, VPNs, or bots.
Check:
Hosting firewall settings
Country-blocking rules
Cloudflare Access Rules
5. HTTPS / SSL Problems
If Facebook is linking to:
http://yourdomain.combut your site forces HTTPS incorrectly, orthere is an SSL certificate issue,
some users may receive errors.
Verify your site loads correctly with:
https://yourdomain.comhttps://www.yourdomain.com
6. Permission Issues on the Server
A genuine 403 can occur if:
File permissions are incorrect
The web root is restricted
Index files are missing
Solution to 403 Forbidden Error
To narrow this down, please tell me:
What is your website URL?
Does the 403 occur:
only when clicked from Facebook?
or when opened directly in a browser as well?
Is the site hosted on WordPress, cPanel hosting, Cloudflare, or another platform?
Do you see the 403 error page from your hosting provider, Cloudflare, or your website itself?
If you share the URL, I can help identify the specific cause.
404 Not Found
When a user's requested page cannot be found on the server, an HTTP response is generated. 404 errors could occur for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the page has been deleted by the webmaster, or the URL you gave is invalid (because this is a client-side issue).
Solution to 404 Not Found
A 404 is still a broken link, thus fixing it is an important maintenance duty. Use the.htaccess approach if you're a workaholic and don't mind going the extra mile. However, installing the Redirection plugin from the WordPress directory is a more natural approach to accomplish this. Then, you can point it to any website page on the network.
For a Prosperna website, a 404 Not Found usually comes down to page availability or publishing settings inside the Prosperna admin.
Common causes in Prosperna:
The page is not published (still draft/unpublished)
The page was deleted or moved
The page URL/slug was changed but old links are still being used
The page is not assigned to a live website/navigation menu
The page is published but not connected to a published site version
What to check in Prosperna:
Go to your Prosperna Admin Dashboard
Open Website / Pages
Check the page status:
If it says Draft / Unpublished → publish it
If it says Published → confirm the slug/URL
Make sure the page is added to:
Navigation menu (if needed)
Live site structure
If changes were recently made, republish the website
Quick fix checklist:
✔ Publish the page
✔ Republish the site (not just the page)
✔ Check the page URL/slug
✔ Ensure it is included in the site menu or routing
✔ Clear cache and test again
Simple rule in Prosperna:
Page unpublished → 404 error
Page published but not linked properly → still 404 via navigation
Site not republished → changes won’t appear
500 Internal Server Error
When something is wrong with your server, a generic error known as a 500 Internal Server Error appears. Since the error message is generic, there are numerous potential causes, including problems with plugins, PHP, database issues, and more.
Solution to 500 Internal Server Error
As there are several causes for the 500 Internal Server Error, fixing it might be difficult. For this one, you should probably read the entire instruction manual.
502 Bad Gateway
502 is unique from other HTTP error codes. When a server on the internet receives an invalid response from another server, this is known as a bad gateway. If the server takes longer than expected to process a request, a 502 HTTP status code will be displayed.
Solution to 502 Bad Gateway
Most of the time, this is easily resolved by simply emptying the browser cache or refreshing the browser. If you recently migrated to the site, give it 24–48 hours. Even the hosting company can be contacted to inquire. A third-party CDN service or plugin may occasionally be the blame for your 502 answers.
301 Moved Permanently
An HTTP 301 occurs when a certain webpage is transferred permanently to a new URL. Although it doesn't really constitute a mistake, it does provide crucial information. You may be directed to another comparable post on a page level (or even the homepage, for that matter), or you may be directed to a domain level.
Solution to 301 Moved Permanently
Verify the redirect settings to ensure that it is perfect. Try replacing any WordPress plugins you've used with Redirection. Make that the redirection was carried out correctly if the.htaccess file was used. This is how to go about it. Maintain the domain-level redirection for a few months so Google is aware of the permanent relocation of the resource.
302 Found
Similar to the 301 status code, but used for temporary redirects, is this HTTP status code. This response informs Google that the page has temporarily relocated but will eventually return to its original URL. If done correctly, the user will be forwarded to another URL in a few seconds.
Solution to 302 Found
The use of a WordPress plugin is the simplest method for configuring a 302 redirect. Rank Math is available in the WordPress directory for installation and use.
410 Gone
The 404 response is comparable to the 410 Gone error. Consider this to be a permanent 404. This code can be used by a webmaster to permanently delete or republish a post or page on another website. When Google receives a 410 answer, it knows the requested resource has been permanently deleted from the internet and won't be re-posted. This makes it simpler to have Google de-crawl or de-index the page.
Solution to 410 Gone
A 410 gone error might occur for a variety of reasons. Make sure the input URL is correct first by checking it. Then, attempt to troubleshoot the update on the WordPress website. Remove any third-party extensions or WordPress plugins. If none of this resolves the issue, there is a server-side issue. Search for the.htaccess file. Then, in the.htaccess text editor, find the phrase "RewriteXXX" and type the following code:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ <a href="http://yourwebsitename.con/expired_page">http://yourwebsitename.con/expired_page</a> $1 [R=410,L]
Replace [http://yourwebsitename.con/expired page] with the URL of the page that has expired or the location where you want to add 410 responses when entering the code.
Need more help?
For more information and assistance, please send an email to support@prosperna.com.