The Most Common Online Errors (and How to Fix Them)

If you’ve been on the Internet for a while, chances are good you’ve encountered a variety of errors. While avoiding errors altogether is not possible, it does help to understand what those errors mean and some basic steps for resolving them.

Common Types of Online Errors

Most online errors are accompanied by an HTTP status code. Commonly, you’ll see a 4XX or a 5XX error2;a 4 or 5 followed by two additional digits, like 404.

Both 4XX and 5XX are errors, but they have a significant difference. 4XX errors are Client Errors while 5XX are Server Errors. If you see a 4XX error, chances are it7;s something you can fix.

5XX errors are Server Errors, which means that you’ve done nothing wrong, but the server you’re trying to access is acting up. Regardless of the error, you can perform a few steps that might help solve the problem.

We’ve listed the most common online errors below and also mentioned a couple of helpful solutions for each error. You can7;t solve all online errors; some happen on the server end, and there7;s not much you can do about them. Still, it doesn7;t hurt to try.

400 Bad Request Error

Anytime you open a website by typing in a URL or clicking a link, your browser initiates a request and sends it to the server of the website you’re trying to access. The 400 error occurs when the server is unable to understand the request. That can happen if the request itself is corrupt, but more often it7;s because of something simple like requesting a URL that doesn7;t exist.

Here are some ways you might be able to solve the problem on your end:

• Refresh the page: Hitting F5 refreshes the page in most browsers. If the problem is a corrupt request, resending the request can sometimes help.
• Double-check the URL: Sometimes a mistyped URL can cause a 400 Bad Request error instead of a 404 Not Found error (which we7;ll also talk about in just a bit).
• Searching for the page on the site: It7;s possible you or the site from which you clicked has a mistaken URL, but that the page does exist somewhere on the site. Try searching the site for the title of the article.
• Clear your browser7;s cookies and cache: Sometimes, servers return 400 errors because they are trying to read cookies on your computer that are corrupt or too old. Clearing your cache and cookies can help.

For a more in-depth discussion of the causes of and potential solutions for a 400 error, check out our detailed guide.