HTTP Status Code Checker

Amaze SEO Tools provides a free HTTP Status Code Checker that fetches any URL and displays the exact numeric HTTP status code returned by the server, giving you the precise technical response behind every page load.

Every time a browser requests a webpage, the server sends back a three-digit HTTP status code before delivering any content. This code tells the browser — and search engine crawlers — exactly what happened with the request: whether the page was found and served successfully (200), whether the browser should look elsewhere because the page has moved (301 or 302), whether access is denied (403), whether the page does not exist (404), or whether the server experienced an internal error (500). These codes operate invisibly behind every page load, but they have enormous implications for SEO, user experience, and website health.

Our checker makes these invisible codes visible. Enter any URL, click Check, and see the exact status code returned — no browser developer tools needed, no command-line knowledge required.

Input Field

Enter a Website URL

A single-line input field is labelled "Enter a website URL" with the placeholder "https://...". Paste or type the complete URL you want to check — for example, https://www.example.com/blog/post-title or https://example.com/old-page. The tool sends an HTTP request to this exact URL and reports the status code in the server's response. A clipboard icon on the right provides quick paste or clear functionality.

reCAPTCHA (I'm not a robot)

Below the input field, tick the "I'm not a robot" checkbox to pass the security verification before checking.

Action Buttons

Three buttons appear beneath the reCAPTCHA:

Check (Blue Button)

The primary action. After entering a URL and completing the reCAPTCHA, click "Check" to send the request and display the HTTP status code returned by the server.

Sample (Green Button)

Loads an example URL into the input field so you can see the tool's output format before entering your own address.

Reset (Red Button)

Clears the input field and any displayed results, returning the tool to its blank state for a new check.

How to Use HTTP Status Code Checker – Step by Step

1. Open the HTTP Status Code Checker on the Amaze SEO Tools website.
2. Enter the URL you want to check — the full address including https://.
3. Tick the reCAPTCHA checkbox to verify yourself.
4. Click "Check" to send the request and retrieve the status code.
5. Review the result — the numeric status code and its meaning are displayed on screen.

Complete HTTP Status Code Reference

HTTP status codes are grouped into five classes identified by their first digit. Here is a comprehensive reference covering the codes most relevant to website owners, developers, and SEO professionals:

1xx — Informational

These codes indicate the server has received the request and the client should continue or wait. They are rarely seen in everyday web browsing but exist in the protocol for connection handling.

• 100 Continue — The server has received the request headers and the client should proceed to send the request body.
• 101 Switching Protocols — The server is switching to a different protocol as requested by the client (e.g., upgrading from HTTP to WebSocket).
• 103 Early Hints — The server sends preliminary response headers to let the browser start preloading resources while the final response is prepared.

2xx — Success

The request was successfully received, understood, and processed. These are the codes you want to see on your live pages.

• 200 OK — The standard success response. The server found the requested resource and returned it. This is the expected code for every working page on your site.
• 201 Created — A new resource was successfully created (common in API responses after POST requests).
• 204 No Content — The request was successful but there is no content body to return (used for actions like successful deletion).
• 206 Partial Content — The server is delivering only part of the resource due to a range header sent by the client (common for video streaming and large file downloads).

3xx — Redirection

The requested resource has been moved, and the browser must take additional action (usually following a redirect) to complete the request. Redirects have significant SEO implications.

• 301 Moved Permanently — The page has permanently moved to a new URL. Search engines transfer ranking signals (link equity) from the old URL to the new one. This is the recommended redirect for permanent URL changes, site migrations, and domain consolidation.
• 302 Found (Temporary Redirect) — The page is temporarily available at a different URL. Search engines keep the original URL in their index because the move is not permanent. Use for temporary maintenance pages or A/B testing scenarios.
• 303 See Other — The response to the request can be found at a different URL using a GET request (typically used after a form submission).
• 304 Not Modified — The resource has not changed since the last request. The browser should use its cached copy, saving bandwidth and load time.
• 307 Temporary Redirect — Similar to 302 but explicitly preserves the original HTTP method (POST remains POST). Used when method preservation is critical.
• 308 Permanent Redirect — Similar to 301 but explicitly preserves the original HTTP method. The permanent equivalent of 307.

4xx — Client Errors

The request contains an error on the client's side — a bad URL, missing authentication, or a request for a resource that does not exist.

• 400 Bad Request — The server cannot process the request due to malformed syntax, invalid parameters, or corrupted request data.
• 401 Unauthorized — The request requires authentication. The user must provide valid credentials (username/password or API key) to access the resource.
• 403 Forbidden — The server understands the request but refuses to authorise it. Unlike 401, providing credentials will not help — access is denied regardless.
• 404 Not Found — The server cannot find the requested resource. The URL does not correspond to any existing page or file. This is the most common HTTP error encountered on the web and has significant SEO implications if it affects important pages.
• 405 Method Not Allowed — The HTTP method used (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) is not supported for the requested URL.
• 408 Request Timeout — The server timed out waiting for the client to complete the request.
• 410 Gone — The resource existed previously but has been permanently removed. Unlike 404, a 410 tells search engines the removal is intentional and they should remove the page from their index promptly.
• 429 Too Many Requests — The user has exceeded the rate limit set by the server. The request is throttled and the client should retry after a delay.
• 451 Unavailable for Legal Reasons — The resource has been removed due to legal demands such as a court order or government censorship directive.

5xx — Server Errors

The server acknowledged the request was valid but failed to fulfil it due to an internal problem. These codes indicate issues that the website operator must resolve.

• 500 Internal Server Error — A generic catch-all error meaning something went wrong on the server. Common causes include code bugs, misconfigured server files (.htaccess errors), exhausted memory or disk space, and database connection failures.
• 502 Bad Gateway — The server acting as a gateway or reverse proxy received an invalid response from the upstream server it was trying to reach. Common with Nginx, Cloudflare, and load balancer configurations.
• 503 Service Unavailable — The server is temporarily unable to handle requests, usually due to planned maintenance or temporary overload. This is often accompanied by a Retry-After header suggesting when the client should try again.
• 504 Gateway Timeout — The gateway or proxy server did not receive a response from the upstream server within the allowed time. Often caused by slow backend processing, database query timeouts, or network connectivity issues between servers.
• 508 Loop Detected — The server detected an infinite redirect loop while processing the request.
• 521 Web Server Is Down — A Cloudflare-specific code indicating the origin web server has refused the connection.
• 522 Connection Timed Out — A Cloudflare-specific code indicating a TCP connection to the origin server could not be established.
• 524 A Timeout Occurred — A Cloudflare-specific code indicating the origin server returned a response but exceeded Cloudflare's timeout period.

Real-World Use Cases

1. Verifying Redirects Are Working Correctly

After setting up 301 or 302 redirects — for a site migration, URL restructuring, or domain change — use the checker on each old URL to confirm it returns the correct redirect code pointing to the right destination. A misconfigured redirect (302 instead of 301, or redirecting to the wrong URL) can silently damage your SEO for months.

2. Finding and Fixing 404 Errors

Check URLs that users report as broken, that appear in Google Search Console's coverage reports, or that are linked from external sites. Confirming a 404 status code verifies the page is genuinely missing, prompting you to either restore the content, set up a redirect to a relevant alternative, or return a proper 410 if the removal was intentional.

3. Diagnosing 500 Server Errors

When users report that a page is not loading, checking the status code distinguishes between a 500 server error (a code problem), a 503 service unavailable (a temporary overload or maintenance), and a 504 timeout (a backend processing delay) — each requiring a different troubleshooting approach.

4. Auditing Redirect Chains

Redirect chains occur when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C, and so on. Each hop slows page loading and dilutes link equity. Check each URL in the chain to map the full sequence and identify opportunities to collapse the chain into a single redirect from the first URL to the final destination.

5. Confirming 301 vs 302 Redirect Implementation

The difference between 301 (permanent) and 302 (temporary) has significant SEO implications. A 301 transfers link equity to the new URL, while a 302 does not. The checker reveals which code is actually being returned, ensuring your redirects match your SEO intent.

6. Monitoring Pages After Deployment

After deploying code changes, adding new pages, or updating server configurations, spot-check critical URLs to confirm they return 200 OK rather than unexpected errors. Catching a 500 or 403 immediately after deployment is far better than discovering it days later through traffic drops.

7. Validating API Endpoint Responses

Developers testing API endpoints use the checker to verify response codes — 200 for successful requests, 201 for resource creation, 401 for missing authentication, and 404 for non-existent endpoints. This quick external check supplements local testing by confirming what the production server actually returns.

HTTP Status Codes and SEO Impact

Different status codes have very different effects on search engine behaviour:

• 200 OK — The page is indexed normally. This is the target status for all pages you want to appear in search results.
• 301 Permanent Redirect — Search engines transfer most ranking signals to the new URL and eventually replace the old URL with the new one in their index. Use for all permanent URL changes.
• 302 Temporary Redirect — Search engines keep the original URL in the index and do not transfer link equity. If used accidentally instead of 301, this can prevent the new URL from inheriting the old URL's rankings.
• 404 Not Found — Search engines will eventually remove the page from the index. If important pages return 404, organic traffic to those URLs drops to zero. Soft 404s (pages returning 200 but displaying "not found" content) are also flagged by Google.
• 410 Gone — Signals intentional, permanent removal. Search engines remove the page from the index faster than with a 404. Use when you want a page deindexed quickly.
• 500/503 Server Errors — Temporary errors are tolerated if resolved quickly. Persistent 5xx errors cause Google to reduce crawl rate and eventually deindex affected pages. Extended downtime damages rankings across the entire site.

HTTP Status Code Checker vs Server Status Checker

Both tools test URL accessibility, but they serve different diagnostic purposes:

• HTTP Status Code Checker (this tool) — Reports the exact numeric HTTP status code (200, 301, 404, 500, etc.) returned by the server. Use it when you need the precise technical response for SEO auditing, redirect validation, and error diagnosis.
• Server Status Checker — Reports whether the server is up or down (online/offline). Use it when you simply need to know if a website is reachable without needing the specific status code.

The HTTP Status Code Checker provides more granular, technical detail — the Server Status Checker provides a simpler up/down answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is an HTTP status code?

A: An HTTP status code is a three-digit number sent by a web server in response to every request. It tells the browser (or crawler) what happened — whether the page was found (200), moved (301/302), does not exist (404), or encountered an error (500). These codes are defined by the HTTP specification and are fundamental to how the web works.

Q: What status code should my pages return?

A: All live, accessible pages should return 200 OK. Permanently moved pages should return 301 with the correct redirect destination. Intentionally removed pages should return 410 Gone. Pages not found should return 404. Pages behind login should return 401 or 403 depending on the access model.

Q: What is the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?

A: A 301 signals a permanent move — search engines transfer ranking power to the new URL. A 302 signals a temporary move — search engines keep the original URL in the index and do not transfer link equity. Using 302 when you mean 301 is one of the most common and damaging redirect mistakes in SEO.

Q: What is the difference between 404 and 410?

A: Both indicate the page is not available. A 404 means "not found" — the page might return in the future. A 410 means "gone" — the page has been intentionally and permanently removed. Google deindexes 410 pages faster than 404 pages.

Q: Can I check the status code of redirected URLs?

A: The tool reports the status code returned by the specific URL you enter. If that URL returns a 301 or 302, you will see the redirect code. To see the final destination's status code, enter the redirect target URL in a separate check.

Q: What do Cloudflare-specific 5xx codes mean?

A: Codes like 521, 522, and 524 are custom Cloudflare codes indicating communication problems between Cloudflare's edge servers and your origin server. They typically mean your hosting server is down (521), unreachable (522), or too slow to respond (524) — the issue is with your origin server, not with Cloudflare itself.

Q: How does a 503 differ from a 500?

A: A 500 Internal Server Error indicates something broke on the server — a code bug, configuration error, or resource exhaustion. A 503 Service Unavailable means the server is intentionally unable to handle requests at the moment — typically due to planned maintenance or temporary overload. A 503 is expected to resolve itself; a 500 usually requires a fix.

Q: Is the URL I enter stored or shared?

A: No. The URL you enter and the returned status code are not saved, logged, or transmitted to any third-party service. The check runs entirely within the tool interface.

Discover the exact HTTP status code any URL returns — use the free HTTP Status Code Checker by Amaze SEO Tools to verify redirects, diagnose errors, audit SEO health, validate API responses, and ensure every page on your site returns the correct response code for search engines and visitors!