Website status test
HTTP Status Code Checker
Free, no sign-up. We only fetch the public URL you enter.
Short answer
Enter a URL above to test its website status. The tool requests the page from an independent server, follows redirects and reports the final HTTP status code, final URL, response time, server software and IP address. 2xx codes mean success, 3xx redirects, 4xx client-side problems such as 404 Not Found or 403 Forbidden, and 5xx server errors such as 500, 502, 503 or 504. Test the exact URLs that matter, including redirects from http and non-www versions, and re-test after changes. For ongoing status checks every five minutes with email alerts, monitordefend monitors your websites continuously.
- Shows the final status code after all redirects.
- Plus final URL, response time, server and IP address.
- Explains what each status code class means.
- 301
http://myshop.com/sale - 301
https://myshop.com/sale - 200
https://www.myshop.com/sale
Every time a browser, a search engine crawler or a monitoring service requests a web page, the server answers with a three-digit HTTP status code. It says whether the request worked, was redirected or failed, and why. A website status test shows you that code for any URL, together with redirects, response time and server details. This page explains how to use the test, what the important status codes mean, how status codes affect visitors and SEO, and how to keep checking the status of your most important pages automatically.
How the website status test works
The test sends a standard HTTP request to the URL you enter, from a server in a German data centre, just like a browser would. If the server answers with a redirect, the test follows it, up to the final page. It then shows the final status code with its meaning, the final URL, the total response time, the server software if it is disclosed and the IP address the domain resolved to.
Because the request comes from outside your network, the result is not influenced by your browser cache, cookies, extensions or local DNS. Internal and private addresses are not tested.
2xx: success
200 OK is the normal answer: the page was found and delivered. 204 No Content means success without a body, common for APIs. 206 Partial Content is used for downloads and video streaming. If an important page returns 200 but shows an error message, it is a so-called soft error, which search engines may treat like a 404 and which simple status tests cannot detect.
3xx: redirects
301 Moved Permanently and 308 Permanent Redirect tell browsers and search engines that a page has moved for good; ranking signals are passed on to the new URL. 302 Found and 307 Temporary Redirect signal a temporary move; the old URL remains the main one. 304 Not Modified tells a browser that its cached copy is still valid.
Keep redirect chains short. Every hop costs time, and long chains or loops can stop crawlers and browsers. Ideally, an old URL redirects in one step to its final destination, including the right protocol and hostname.
4xx: client errors
404 Not Found means the URL does not exist; 410 Gone says it was removed deliberately. 403 Forbidden means access is denied, often by permissions, a firewall or bot protection. 401 Unauthorized requires a login. 429 Too Many Requests means rate limiting. 400 Bad Request points to a malformed request.
Status 200 OK Final URL https://www.myshop.com/sale Time 412 ms Server cloudflare IP 104.21.48.10
Many 404s are normal on large sites, but 404s on pages that are linked internally, listed in the sitemap or receiving backlinks waste visitors and link value. Fix them with a redirect or by restoring the content.
5xx: server errors
500 Internal Server Error is a general failure of the application, often a code error or a misconfiguration. 502 Bad Gateway and 504 Gateway Timeout mean that a proxy, load balancer or CDN could not get a valid or timely answer from the server behind it. 503 Service Unavailable means the server is overloaded or in maintenance.
5xx codes affect every visitor and should be fixed immediately. Repeated server errors also make search engines crawl less and, if they persist, drop pages from the index.
Status codes behind CDNs and firewalls
Many websites sit behind a CDN or a web application firewall such as Cloudflare. The status you see then comes from that layer, not necessarily from your server. A 52x code from Cloudflare, for example, means the CDN could not reach or get a valid answer from the origin server. A 403 or a challenge page means the protection layer decided not to let the request through. When you troubleshoot, check whether the server header in the result names your web server or the CDN, and test the origin directly if you can.
Reading status codes in server logs
Your web server’s access log records the status code of every request. Counting codes per hour shows error bursts at a glance; filtering for 404s reveals broken links and outdated bookmarks; filtering for 5xx shows when and where the application failed. Search Console’s crawl stats report shows the status codes Googlebot received, which is useful to confirm that search engines see the same answers as your tests.
Why status codes matter for SEO
Search engines rely on status codes to understand what to index. Pages that should rank must answer 200. Moved pages need 301 redirects, not 302s that are never replaced. Deleted pages should return 404 or 410, not 200 with an error message. Planned maintenance should return 503, ideally with a Retry-After header, instead of an error page with 200 or a 500. Checking status codes after migrations, redesigns and CMS changes prevents most SEO accidents.
What to test
Testing all hostname and protocol variants makes sure every visitor ends up on the one correct version of your site in a single redirect.
- Homepage in all variants: http, https, with and without www
- Pages that bring revenue or leads: checkout, forms, landing pages
- Old URLs after a migration: do they redirect to the right page?
- Deleted pages: do they return 404 or 410?
- API endpoints and health checks used by apps or partners
Response time in the status test
The test also shows how long the full answer took. Under half a second is good for most pages; several seconds point to a slow server, an uncached dynamic page or a long redirect chain. A single measurement can be affected by caches warming up, so repeat it a few times before drawing conclusions.
- Maintenance starts, site returns 503 with Retry-After
- Crawlers back off and return later
- Maintenance ends, status 200 again
Status tests in bulk and over time
For many URLs, crawlers and broken link checkers test status codes in bulk and report all errors and redirects. For important URLs, continuous monitoring checks the status every few minutes and alerts you when it changes from 200 to an error, so you do not depend on running tests by hand.
Common mistakes
Using 302 for permanent moves. Showing “page not found” with status 200. Redirecting all deleted pages to the homepage, which search engines treat as soft 404s. Blocking monitoring and crawler requests with bot protection without noticing. Long chains of http to https to www to final URL. And testing only in the browser, where caches hide what the server really answers.
Continuous status checks with monitordefend
monitordefend tests each website’s status every five minutes from Germany, confirms errors with a second attempt and emails you when a site returns errors or times out. A daily crawl finds broken links with 404 and other error codes across your pages, and further checkers cover indexing, traffic, checkout and security signals. It does not offer API access or webhooks for status changes.
Frequently asked questions
What is a website status test?
A check that requests a URL and shows the HTTP status code the server returns, plus redirects, response time and server details.
What does status code 200 mean?
The request succeeded and the page was delivered normally.
What is the difference between 301 and 302?
301 is a permanent move that passes ranking signals to the new URL. 302 is a temporary move; the original URL stays the main one.
What does 503 Service Unavailable mean?
The server is temporarily unable to handle requests, usually because of overload or maintenance.
Why does my page show 403 in the test but work in my browser?
A firewall or bot protection likely blocks automated requests. Visitors may not be affected.
What is a soft 404?
A page that shows a “not found” message but returns status 200. Search engines detect and treat it like an error.
What do 502 and 504 errors mean?
A gateway, proxy, load balancer or CDN could not get a valid (502) or timely (504) answer from the server behind it.
Should deleted pages return 404 or 410?
Both work. 410 says the removal is deliberate and may lead to faster removal from search indexes; 404 is fine in most cases.
How can I monitor status codes continuously?
Use an uptime monitor that checks your URLs every few minutes and alerts you when the status changes to an error.
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