Test URL status codes and response headers. Check HTTP response codes, redirects, and server responses for SEO and troubleshooting.
Test HTTP status codes and analyze server responses
Every time a browser or a search engine bot requests a page from your website, the server answers with a three-digit code before it sends any content. That code tells you whether the request worked, whether the page moved, or whether something broke on the server. The URL status code tester above shows you that code instantly, so you never have to guess whether a page is healthy.
Getting the result is only the first step. The real value comes from understanding what each code means, how Google reacts to it, and what you should do next. This guide walks through all of that.
The first digit of every code tells you its category:
From an SEO standpoint, 3xx, 4xx, and 5xx codes deserve the most attention because they are where traffic and crawl efficiency are most often lost.
| Code | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 200 OK | The page loaded normally | Nothing, but confirm the page has real content |
| 301 | Permanent redirect | Use it when a page has moved for good |
| 302 / 307 | Temporary redirect | Use only for short-term moves; switch to 301 if the move is permanent |
| 401 / 403 | Login required or access denied | Make sure public pages are not blocked by mistake |
| 404 | Page not found | Redirect with a 301 if a close replacement exists; otherwise leave it as a 404 |
| 410 | Page intentionally removed | Use for pages that are gone with no replacement |
| 429 | Too many requests | Check rate limits and bot protection settings |
| 500 / 502 | Server or gateway error | Check your hosting logs and fix it right away |
| 503 | Service temporarily unavailable | The right code for short maintenance windows, but do not leave it on for days |
Googlebot treats each code differently, which is why some problems should be fixed before others.
A 200 means the server delivered the page, but it does not guarantee the page will be indexed. If a URL displays a "page not found" message while still returning a 200, Google may treat it as a soft 404. You will usually see this label in the Page Indexing report in Search Console. Pages like these should return a real 404 or 410, or have their content restored if they are supposed to exist.
A 301 or 308 sends a strong signal that the move is permanent, while a 302 or 307 signals a temporary change. A common mistake is leaving a 302 on a page that moved permanently, then wondering why the new URL is slow to pick up rankings. Redirect chains are another problem. When URL A goes to B and B goes to C, every extra hop slows down users and wastes crawl resources. Point the old URL straight to the final destination whenever you can.
When you need to send an old page to a new one, you can skip writing server rules by hand and use this redirect generator to create the rule for you. It reduces the risk of syntax errors, which are one of the most common causes of broken redirects.
Google ignores the content of any URL that returns a 4xx code. Newly discovered 404 pages are not processed, and Google gradually crawls them less often. That means not every 404 is an emergency. If a page never existed or has no replacement, a 404 is perfectly fine. The real damage happens when an important page, or a page with backlinks and traffic, starts returning a 404. Those URLs should be redirected to the most relevant live page first.
Google reads a 429 as a sign that your server is overloaded and handles it like a 5xx error. In both cases, the crawler temporarily slows down. If the problem lasts more than a few hours, new and updated pages can take longer to appear in search results. For planned maintenance, a 503 with a Retry-After header is the best approach because it tells bots when to come back.
/page and /page/ can behave differently.Sometimes a tool reports a 403 or a timeout even though the page opens fine in your browser. This usually happens because a firewall, CDN, or bot protection system blocks automated requests. In that case, open the page in a browser first, then use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to see what Googlebot actually received. If only the testing tool is being blocked, it is usually not an SEO problem. If Googlebot is also getting a 403, update your firewall rules right away.
No. Old or nonexistent pages returning a 404 is normal. The harm comes when important pages return 404s by mistake or when internal links point to missing pages.
A 301 tells search engines the page moved permanently, while a 302 says the change is temporary. If you do not plan to bring the old URL back, use a 301.
Google handles both in much the same way, treating the page as gone. A 410 states more clearly that the removal was intentional, but the practical difference is small.
Once a month works for small sites and once a week for larger ones. Always check right after a migration, redesign, or hosting change.
Not necessarily. A 200 only means the page loaded. Indexing depends on content quality, canonical tags, noindex directives, and other signals.
Status codes look like small technical details, but they affect crawling, indexing, and the experience of every visitor. Run your URL through the tester, understand what the code is telling you, and verify again after you fix it. A quick routine like this helps you catch broken pages and faulty redirects before they turn into bigger problems.