Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
"5XX (Server Error)" - How can I fix this?
-
Hey Mozers!
Moz Crawl tells me I am having an issue with my Wordpress category - it is returning a 5XX error and i'm not sure why? Can anyone help me determine the issue?
Crawl Issues and Notices for:
http://www.refusedcarfinance.com/news/category/news
We found 1 crawler issue(s) for this page.
High Priority Issues
1
5XX (Server Error)
5XX errors (e.g., a 503 Service Unavailable error) are shown when a valid request was made by the client, but the server failed to complete the request. This can indicate a problem with the server, and should be investigated and fixed.
-
One more thing I want to add:
Search engines can remove your site from their index after they repeatedly get such a response. To prevent deindexing, use SEO tools to audit your site and detect 5xx errors in time. You can fix errors using three strategies:
Reload the page to check if the issue was merely momentary.
Check the error log on the site.
Consider any changes or upgrades to the system that you have carried out recently and roll them back until the issue is resolved. -
A 5xx server error is an error which occurs when server doesn’t fulfill a request.
It’s quite difficult to detect and fix each occurrence of these errors, but search engines don’t like them, especially 500 and 503 errors.
-
- Reload the page in case the issue was merely momentary.
- Check the error log on the site.
- Consider any changes or upgrades to the system that you have carried out recently and roll them back until the issue is resolved.
-
@asim21.. Hi asim.. hope you are well.
What is 5XX server error?
5XX (Sever Error) is occur when a valid request wad made by the client but the server failed to complete the request. Hence there is issue on server side. This error should be fixed for better performace and SEO of your website.
How to Fix..
1. Clear cookies and chaches:
Sometimes 5xx errors are due to the cookies related to the website, so deleting these and refreshing the browser can often solve the problem. To do this, enter your web browsers History and select Delete. To remove the cookies from some devices you may need to check the box next to Cookies before hitting delete. Refresh your page and check to see if the error code represents itself.
2. Contact your host/server and creat a support ticket.
If the problem continues, the best step is to contact your hosting provider or create a support ticket and they will fixed this issue on their side . Chances are they are already on top of it or undergoing maintenance, but this will help put your mind at ease and give an idea of when it may be up and running again.
I am adding one of my website for promotion.. kindly visit to support me Visit my website
thanks. -
5xx server errors present a big issue because they directly harm your visitor’s experience. Imagine having an eCommerce store, and your visitors keep receiving these server errors. Do you think they’ll keep trying and eventually purchase something? Hello I'm the Owner of Reactormoney.com
No, they’ll go next door and buy from the competition.
And what about search engines like Google? If they receive 5xx server errors just occasionally, then you probably don’t have much to fear. But if the 5xx server errors are persistent, then it’s likely you’ll see a steady decline in organic traffic.
In this article we’ll cover why 5xx server errors are bad for SEO, what the most common 5xx server errors are, how to find out if your site’s server returns them, what causes this, and how to fix them.
So we need to fix it.
3 Simple Steps to Clearing a 5XX Error
5XX errors are server-side meaning the problem is not likely to lie within your internet connection or device. There will be an error with your website server.
In the unlikely event that there is an issue with something on your end, there are a few simple steps you can take before seeking further help and advice.
1. Refresh your browser
The problem may only be temporary, reloading the page will often prove successful. You can do this by resubmitting the URL from the address bar, pressing F5 or Ctrl-R on your keyboard.
2. Remove cookies
Sometimes 5xx errors are due to the cookies related to the website, so deleting these and refreshing the browser can often solve the problem. To do this, enter your web browser's History and select Delete. To remove the cookies from some devices you may need to check the box next to Cookies before hitting delete. Refresh your page and check to see if the error code represents itself.
3. Contact your host/server
If the problem continues, the best step is to contact your host or server directly to find out what the problem is. Chances are they are already on top of it or undergoing maintenance, but this will help put your mind at ease and give an idea of when it may be up and running again. Here are articles that might help: Best fish finder under 1000
-
5XX (Server Error) 5XX errors (e.g., a 503 Service Unavailable error) are shown when a valid request was made by the client, but the server failed to complete the request. This can indicate a problem with the server, and should be investigated and fixed.
Usually a 5XX error means an issue on your server, so you might wish to inquire with your web dev about the cause. If you're still not sure what to do, the Q&A forum is generally a great place to look for ideas in resolving some of these issues. Here are articles that might help: best gaming laptop for sims 4
-
My Search Console account showing 2k Server Errors for both Desktop & Smartphone. I'm confused why it is showing these errors, as when I open these URLs on Desktop as well as on Mobile browser they are working fine.
What does that mean, do I need to work on it? and How? is there any problem with Google Crawling? Is Google cannot crawl these pages?
If the URL is opening and not showing any error it means The URL is fine? Can I ignore the Search Console error?
-
Good question! I've seen this happen with a few clients.
Here is my process for reviewing 5xx errors:
- Manually check a handful of reported 5xx URLs and note their status codes. Often times upon manual inspection, you'll often find that these pages return different status codes (200, 4xx).
- Perform a crawl using Screaming Frog and watch the "Status Codes" report. Watch to see if URL go from getting crawled as 200 to 5xx status codes.
- If this is the case, the issue might that your hosting can't handle the requests getting sent to your site. If not and your URLs are getting reported as 200, it might been a temporary status the crawler found.
- If possible, check your log files to see if Googlebot is returning a large number of 5xx errors.
Overall, if you only find a few 5xx errors in Search Console and your log files but don't find them in when you crawl the site, you're probably OK. However, if a crawl consistently reveals them or you see a large number in your log files then it's a high priority item to flag to your developers. You may need to consider upgrading your hosting or rolling back any recent development changes that were made. Definitely lean on your developer's insights here.
-
Hi Maria,
I'm also facing the same issue. Can you guide me how to resolve it because your issue is old I think till now you got a solution. I'm also facing issue on my Page URL. I'm waiting for your response as I also have android gaming blog so may be your solution work for me.
-
Hi,
My Search Console account showing 2k Server Errors for both Desktop & Smartphone. I'm confused why it is showing these errors, as when I open these URLs on Desktop as well as on Mobile browser they are working fine.
What does that mean, do I need to work on it? and How? is there any problem with Google Crawling? Is Google cannot crawl these pages?
If the URL is opening and not showing any error it means The URL is fine? Can I ignore the Search Console error?
Is there any issue with server-side rendering? Please help me as I want to fix this ASAP.
Awaiting help on this!
-
Hi there! Sorry to hear you're having trouble.
Our crawl error guide is a great place to start to find more information. You might consider running a Crawl Test on the site to validate the error, as it could possibly have been a temporary issue. If you're still seeing the error crop up, it probably warrants additional investigation.
Usually a 5XX error means an issue on your server, so you might wish to inquire with your web dev about the cause. If you're still not sure what to do, the Q&A forum is generally a great place to look for ideas in resolving some of these issues. Here are some articles that might help:
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How to fix Google index after fixing site infected with malware.
Hi All Upgraded a Joomla site for a customer a couple of months ago that was infected with malware (it wasn't flagged as infected by google). Site is fine now but still noticing search queries for "cheap adobe" etc with links to http://domain.com/index.php?vc=201&Cheap_Adobe_Acrobat_xi in web master tools (about 50 in total). These url's redirect back to home page and seem to be remaining in the index (I think Joomla is doing this automatically) Firstly, what sort of effect would these be having on on their rankings? Would they be seen by google as duplicate content for the homepage (moz doesn't report them as such as there are no internal links). Secondly what's my best plan of attack to fix them. Should I setup 404's for them and then submit them to google? Will resubmitting the site to the index fix things? Would appreciate any advice or suggestions on the ramifications of this and how I should fix it. Regards, Ian
Technical SEO | | iragless0 -
Can I have an H1 tag below an H2?
Quick question for you all - Is there an issue with me having an H1 tag physically below an H2 tag on a web page??
Technical SEO | | Pete40 -
Does using data-href="" work more effectively than href="" rel="nofollow"?
I've been looking at some bigger enterprise sites and noticed some of them used HTML like this: <a <="" span="">data-href="http://www.otherodmain.com/" class="nofollow" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a <="" span="">Instead of a regular href="" Does using data-href and some javascript help with shaping internal links, rather than just using a strict nofollow?</a>
Technical SEO | | JDatSB0 -
Use webmaster tools "change of address" when doing rel=canonical
We are doing a "soft migration" of a website. (Actually it is a merger of two websites). We are doing cross site rel=canonical tags instead of 301's for the first 60-90 days. These have been done on a page by page basis for an entire site. Google states that a "change of address" should be done in webmaster tools for a site migration with 301's. Should this also be done when we are doing this soft move?
Technical SEO | | EugeneF0 -
Why "title missing or empty" when title tag exists?
Greetings! On Dec 1, 2011 in a SEOMoz campaign, two crawl metrics shot up from zero (Nov 17, Nov 24). "Title missing or empty" was 9,676. "Duplicate page content" was 9,678. Whoa! Content at site has not changed. I checked a sample of web pages and each seems to have a proper TITLE tag. Page content differs as well -- albeit we list electronic part numbers of hard-to-find parts, which look similar. I found a similar post http://www.seomoz.org/q/why-crawl-error-title-missing-or-empty-when-there-is-already-title-and-meta-desciption-in-place . In answer, Sha ran Screaming Frog crawler. I ran Frog crawler on a few hundred pages. Titles were found and hash codes were unique. Hmmm. Site with errors is http://electronics1.usbid.com Small sample of pages with errors: electronics1.usbid.com/catalog_10.html
Technical SEO | | groovykarma
electronics1.usbid.com/catalog_100.html
electronics1.usbid.com/catalog_1000.html I've tried to reproduce errors yet I cannot. What am I missing please? Thanks kindly, Loren0 -
On a dedicated server with multiple IP addresses, how can one address group be slow/time out and all other IP addresses OK?
We utilize a dedicated server to host roughly 60 sites on. The server is with a company that utilizes a lady who drives race cars.... About 4 months ago we realized we had a group of sites down thanks to monitoring alerts and checked it out. All were on the same IP address and the sites on the other IP address were still up and functioning well. When we contacted the support at first we were stonewalled, but eventually they said there was a problem and it was resolved within about 2 hours. Up until recently we had no problems. As a part of our ongoing SEO we check page load speed for our clients. A few days ago a client who has their site hosted by the same company was running very slow (about 8 seconds to load without cache). We ran every check we could and could not find a reason on our end. The client called the host and were told they needed to be on some other type of server (with the host) at a fee increase of roughly $10 per month. Yesterday, we noticed one group of sites on our server was down and, again, it was one IP address with about 8 sites on it. On chat with support, they kept saying it was our ISP. (We speed tested on multiple computers and were 22MB down and 9MB up +/-2MB). We ran a trace on the IP address and it went through without a problem on three occassions over about ten minutes. After about 30 minutes the sites were back up. Here's the twist: we had a couple of people in the building who were on other ISP's try and the sites came up and loaded on their machines. Does anyone have any idea as to what the issue is?
Technical SEO | | RobertFisher0 -
Meta tag "noindex,nofollow" by accident
Hi, 3 weeks ago I wanted to release a new website (made in WordPress), so I neatly created 301 redirects for all files and folders of my old html website and transferred the WordPress site into the index folder. Job well done I thought, but after a few days, my site suddenly disappeared from google. I read in other Q&A's that this could happen so I waited a little longer till I finally saw today that there was a meta robots added on every page with "noindex, nofollow". For some reason, the WordPress setting "I want to forbid search engines, but allow normal visitors to my website" was selected, although I never even opened that section called "Privacy". So my question is, will this have a negative impact on my pagerank afterwards? Thanks, Sven
Technical SEO | | Zitana0 -
Is "last modified" time in XML Sitemaps important?
My Tech lead is concerned that his use of a script to generate XML sitemaps for some client sites may be causing negative issues for those sites. His concern centers around the fact that the script generates a sitemap which indicates that every URL page in the site was last modified at the exact same date and time. I have never heard anything to indicate that this might be a problem, but I do know that the sitemaps I generate for other client sites can choose server response or not. What is the best way to generate the sitemap? Last mod from actual time modified, or all set at one date and time?
Technical SEO | | ShaMenz0