Just like 4XX errors, you might also encounter some of the most common HTTP errors of the 5XX ranges.
These 5XX errors will show on your browser screen when there’s an issue happening on the server side, hence it is also commonly known as “5XX Server Error“.
For beginners or newbies who have just started exploring the internet, these types of HTTP errors can be quite confusing and intimidating at first. And there are high chances that end up being misunderstood with the website issue instead. But in reality, it has happened on the server side.
In this post, we will explore more about 5xx errors, their causes, Types, and How to avoid them in a very comprehensive manner.
The 5xx meaning is a range of HTTP status codes that starts with the number “5” and indicates that there is a server issue, which means the server has encountered an issue and is not able to complete the client’s request.
These 5XX status codes start anywhere from 500 to 599 and all they indicate a different issue with the server. Some of the most common errors in this range you might encounter are 500, 502, and 503 errors.
Why you should care about the 5xx server error?
If you are running an eCommerce store, server errors can significantly threaten your visitor’s experience. It can lead to web traffic being diverted to your potential competitors instead.
Since the server error can pose a threat to user experience, it can also lead to a decline in organic traffic and severely impact your SEO efforts.
If the 5XX server errors continue to show up on your website, it can result in slow indexing of the content by search engine crawlers and hence reduce the site’s crawl budget.
If the crawl budget is reduced, it will lead to slow content indexing and hence affect the SERP rankings.
Some popular Search engines like Google and Microsoft Bing may demote URLs experiencing 5xx server errors, which will result in lower rankings or in the worst case completely remove them from SERPs.
If the content or the pages are not available, the crawlers will not be able to do proper indexing and ranking.
Therefore, you should always care about the 5xx server error, and whenever you receive alerts about such errors, promptly fix them to prevent negative impacts on SEO performance.
Some common 5XX server errors and their Quick Fixes
Although there is quite a large range of 5XX server errors, some of them are encountered very commonly, while others are very rare, which makes it likely that you may encounter them. So, you should focus on the common ones, and here are some of them:
1. 500 Internal Server Error
The 500 Internal Server Error indicates that the webserver is facing some kind of Internal issue due to which the request made by the user agent could not be processed at that moment. Sometimes this kind of error is momentary, which lasts for a few minutes and sometimes just a few seconds.
The 502 Bad Gateway error states there has been an inadequate response from the other server. You can see this error on any device, browser, and operating system.
There are different variations you might see 502 errors. Here are some of them:
The 503 Service Unavailable error indicates that a web server is unavailable to process the request. It also shows that there is an internet or network inadequacy.
504 Gateway timeout error indicates that one server does not receive a timely response from another one that works as a gateway or proxy. Simply put, 504 gateway timeout means that the server could not complete your request within some frame.
Causes of 504 Gateway Timeout Error
Slow server
Insufficient PHP workers
Problems with the firewall
Network connection
How to fix 504 Gateway Timeout Error?
Try to reload the page
Try a different browser
Check on different devices
Disable the proxy server
Check DNS records propagation
Temporarily disable the CDN
Check the issues with your hosting provider
Clean the site from spam, and bots and protect it from DDoS attacks
Error 505 occurs when the server doesn’t support the HTTP protocol version used by the client. The server understands the request but is unable to complete the request due to an incompatible protocol version.
Causes of 505 HTTP Version Not Supported Error
Outdated or unsupported HTTP protocol versions
Incompatibility between client and server versions
Server misconfiguration or software bugs
If there is any whitespace after the HTTP version
If the client is other than a web browser.
How to fix the 505 HTTP Version Not Supported error
Check Server Configuration
Check HTTP protocol versions
Update server software or modules
Test compatibility between client and server versions
Some other uncommon 5XX server errors you might see
501 Not Implemented- It indicates that the server fails to understand the request due to a lack of support.
507Insufficient Storage – 507 ‘Insufficient Storage’ status code is returned if a process cannot be completed due to lack of storage space on the server.
508Resource Limit is reached – The “resource limit is reached” means that the server hosting the website has exhausted its allocated resource limits and cannot fulfill your requests.
521 Web server is Down– This indicates that the ‘Web Server is Down’ and is not able to accept and process the request.
522 Connection Timed Out– Popularly known as Cloudflare Error 522 indicates that the web server can’t reach the destination website due to connection timed out.
523 Origin Is Unreachable – The origin is unreachable error means there has been some connection or network issue due to which the Cloudflare server cannot connect or communicate with the origin server.
524 A Timeout Occurred – “A timeout occurred“. It indicates, that Cloudflare is successfully connected to the origin web server but the server failed to deliver an HTTP response within the default 100-second connection timeout period.
How to detect 5xx Server Errors?
Finding server-side errors, such as 5xx errors, is not easy, especially for large, complex websites that have thousands of pages. But it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, here are some of the easiest and fastest methods you can follow:
1. SEO Crawler Tool
The fastest and easiest method to detect any server issues on your website is to use an SEO crawler tool, such as SemRush. However, these tools are not free and can be quite expensive. The best part is that some of them provide a trial version as well.
These tools can be very helpful, especially in detecting any issues before search engines find out and impact your SEO.
2. Use Google Search Console Pages Indexing report
GSC or Google Search Console is completely Free to use and also provides an Index page report that describes any server errors Google has tracked.
All you have to do is log in to your Google Search Console Account > At the top left, choose the right property > On the left side click on Indexing section > Pages.
3. Use Google Search Console Crawl Report
The Google Search Console Crawl Report will provide you with all the stats of Google’s crawling history on your website. All you need to do is to,
1. Login to Google Search Console Account
2. At the top left, choose the right property
3. On the left side click on “Settings” under the Legacy tools and report section as shown below:
Google Search Console Settings
4. Now click on the “Open Report” link as shown in the picture below.
Crawl Stats Open Report
5. Check out the links under “crawl requests breakdown” followed by checking 5xx errors in the “By response” section as shown below:
Crawl Stats Google Search Console
4. Check 5xx Server error in Server logs
Server logs are one of the best tools for gaining a clear picture of all the issues or errors occurring on your website. They provide detailed log information of all requests sent and the server responses.
5xx server errors occur when the web server encounters an issue and cannot fulfill a client request. These errors are server-side issues, meaning the problem lies with the server rather than the client or user. Several common reasons can lead to the occurrence of 5xx errors:
Why 5xx server error happen?
Although, there can be plenty of reasons that you might encounter a 5xx server error, here are some of the common ones.
Server Overload: If a server is receiving too many requests than it can handle, it may become overburdened. This can result in delays or failures in processing requests, leading to 5xx errors such as 502 Bad Gateway or 503 Service Unavailable.
Server Misconfigurations: Incorrect server configurations and misconfigured web hosting accounts can lead to a 5xx server error.
Software Bugs: Bugs or issues in the server software, web application code, or related components can cause unexpected errors, leading to 5xx status codes.
Temporary Downtime: Servers may experience temporary downtime due to maintenance, updates, or other issues. During these periods, users may encounter 503 Service Unavailable errors.
Network Issues: Problems with the network infrastructure, such as connectivity issues or communication failures between servers, can result in 5xx errors.
Server-side Scripting Errors: If a server-side script (e.g., PHP, Python, etc.) encounters an error during execution, it may generate a 5xx error. This could be due to coding errors, resource limitations, or other issues with the script.
Database Errors: Issues with database connections or queries, which many web applications rely on, can lead to 5xx errors if the server cannot retrieve or update the required data.
Now you have learned What a 5xx Server error is, and How it can severely impact your website’s overall SEO. The best thing to tackle such errors is always to host your website on a reliable, trusted, and secure Managed Web hosting platform, i.e. WPOven in the first place. Or in case you are encountering server errors too frequently, it’s better to migrate your website instead.
On the other hand, you can also monitor your website’s performance regularly and use Google Search Console (GSC) and server log files to detect and fix issues promptly. Always be prepared to encounter 5xx server errors, as they can be triggered by thousands of possible reasons.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I fix 5xx server error?
Here are some of the methods you can follow to fix the 5xx server error: 1. Choose a more reliable, trusted, and secure Web hosting. 2. Use SEO crawler tools to detect bugs and fix them. 3. Check error logs for detailed information. 4. Contact your web hosting provider for any assistance.
Why server error?
Server errors are the HTML response sent by the server if anything goes wrong with them. It can happen for a variety of reasons, some of which are: 1. Server Overload 2. Server Misconfigurations 3. Software Bugs 4. Temporary Server Downtime 5. Network Issues 6. Server-side Scripting Errors 7. Database Errors 8. Security Measures
What do 500 errors mean?
The 500 errors also known as 500 Internal Server Error means that the webserver is facing some kind of Internal issue due to which the request made by the user agent could not be processed at that moment.
Rahul Kumar is a web enthusiast, and content strategist specializing in WordPress & web hosting. With years of experience and a commitment to staying up-to-date with industry trends, he creates effective online strategies that drive traffic, boosts engagement, and increase conversions. Rahul’s attention to detail and ability to craft compelling content makes him a valuable asset to any brand looking to improve its online presence.
