What website error codes mean

This guide explains the most common error numbers your website can show, what each one means on our hosting and what to try first.

403 Forbidden

The server found the page but won’t show it.

• Check file permissions in File Manager. Files are normally 644 and folders 755.
• Check public_html has an index file, such as index.php or index.html. Without one, the folder may show 403.
• Look in .htaccess for Deny or Require lines that might be blocking you.
• If only you see it and others don’t, our firewall may have blocked your IP address. Open a ticket with your IP address, which you can find by searching “what is my IP”.

404 Not Found

The server can’t find anything at that address.

• Check the address for typing mistakes.
• Check the file is in the right folder. Your main domain’s files go in public_html.
• On WordPress, if the home page works but other pages show 404, go to Settings, then Permalinks, and click Save Changes without changing anything. This rewrites the rules WordPress needs.

500 Internal Server Error

Something in your site’s code or settings failed. The message itself doesn’t say what.

• Check your error logs. See how to find error logs in cPanel.
• If you’ve just edited .htaccess, undo the change. A single wrong line can cause a 500.
• Try a different PHP version. See how to change your PHP version.
• On WordPress, turn off plugins. See how to fix the white screen of death.

502 Bad Gateway and 503 Service Unavailable

The server couldn’t get an answer in time, or the service wasn’t available.

• Reload after a minute. A short burst of traffic or a slow script can cause these briefly.
• If you use Cloudflare and the error page has Cloudflare branding, the problem may be between Cloudflare and our server. Pause Cloudflare to test.
• If it keeps happening, check Resource Usage in cPanel to see if you’ve hit a limit.
• If it lasts more than a few minutes and nothing else explains it, open a ticket.

508 Resource Limit Is Reached

Each account has its own share of the server, with a limit of 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM. A 508 means your site tried to use more than that, so new visitors were turned away until usage dropped.

• In cPanel, open Resource Usage to see which limit was hit and when.
• Common causes are bots crawling the site heavily, a plugin doing too much work, or a large import or backup running.
• On WordPress, a caching plugin cuts the work done per visit. See how to make WordPress faster.
• If the site is simply busy, open a ticket and we can talk about options.

If it doesn’t work

• You’ve tried the steps and the error stays. Restore a backup from before the problem began. See how to restore a backup with JetBackup.
• The whole site is unreachable rather than showing a code. See my website is down: what to check.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we’ll help.