What is a 400 Status Code?

Encountering a 400 status code can be a frustrating experience for both website visitors and site owners. Commonly known as a "Bad Request," this error indicates that the server cannot process a request due to something perceived as a client-side error. Understanding the mechanics behind this response is essential for maintaining a seamless user experience and ensuring your site remains healthy in search engine results.

Run Marketing helps you identify technical hurdles that prevent your website from reaching its full potential. With our technical expertise, you can resolve server communication issues and improve your site’s overall performance and reliability.

What is a 400 Status Code?

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The 400 error code is part of the HTTP status code family and is a client-side error. This means the issue is usually coming from the user side, not from the server itself. The error code 400 indicates that the request you sent to the website server, often something simple like a request to load a web page, was somehow incorrect or corrupted, and the server could not understand it. The 400 Bad Request error is often caused by entering an incorrect URL in the address bar, but there are some other relatively common causes as well.

Common Causes of Error Code 400

Identifying the 400 error meaning is the first step toward fixing this error. Here are some of the common causes of this error code.

1. Incorrect URL Syntax

The most common cause of a 400 response code is a malformed URL typed in the address bar. This usually happens when a user types a web address manually and includes illegal characters. Professional web design involves ensuring all internal links are structured correctly to avoid these syntax issues.

2. Corrupted  Cookies

Browsers store data from websites you've visited before in the form of cookies for quicker access later on. However, these cookies can become corrupted or outdated over time. When a browser sends a cookie that has expired or is corrupted, the server might return a status 400.

3. DNS Cache Issue 

Just like cookies, your operating system also stores a DNS cache. If your DNS cache is corrupted or outdated, it may be pointing to the wrong IP address for the website you are trying to visit. This can result in an error code 400.

4. Large File Size

Servers have limits on file sizes that can be uploaded. If you try to upload a file that exceeds the limit, the server will reject the request and return a 400 error code. 

5. Server-Side Issue

Although a 400 error is normally from the client side, in some cases it can be caused by a problem on the server. A misconfigured server or a bug in the website’s code could be misinterpreting your request and giving a 400 error in return. 

The Impact of Status 400 on Web Marketing

In web marketing, technical stability is just as important as creative content. High frequencies of 400 errors can negatively impact your SEO. While a few errors won't tank your rankings, a systemic issue prevents search engine bots from crawling your pages effectively.

• User Frustration: Visitors who encounter a 400 status code are likely to leave your site and go to a competitor.
• Wasted Crawl Budget: If Googlebot hits too many 400 error code pages, it may reduce the frequency with which it visits your site.
• Data Integrity: Constant bad requests can skew your analytics, making it harder to track genuine user behavior and conversion paths.

How to Fix a 400 Response Code

A 400 error code can be either from the client’s end or from the server side. And the solution varies for both.

Client-Side Solutions

These solutions focus on fixing problems with your browser and your computer.

1. Clear Browser Cache and Cookies

A corrupted browser cache and cookies can cause 400 errors. Clearing them may resolve the issue. After clearing your cache and cookies, restart your browser and try to visit the website again.

2. Clear DNS Cache

Clearing your operating system’s DNS cache will remove any outdated or corrupted DNS information and may fix error 400.

3. Check for Large File Uploads

If you’re facing the 400 error while trying to upload a file, probably the file size is the problem. If the file is too large, reduce its size by compressing it.

Server-Side Solutions

If you’ve tried all the client-side solutions and you’re still getting a 400 error code, there’s a chance that the problem is on the server’s side.

1. Check Server Logs

Your server logs can provide valuable information about the cause of a 400 error. The logs will show you the exact request that caused the error, which can help you identify the problem.

2. Check Request Headers: Sometimes, security software or firewalls are too aggressive and will consider legitimate headers as malformed.

3. Check Server Limits: If clients are frequently loading larger files, change the client_max_body_size in your server configuration. Top digital marketing companies in Canada ensure that these technical limits are properly configured to keep high-traffic sites running smoothly.

Comparing 400-Series Error Categories

Conclusion

Addressing and preventing 400 Bad Request errors is essential to providing a good user experience on your website. This error can have a bad impact on the SEO of your website and overall performance, making it important to resolve it promptly.

By partnering with a reputable digital marketing agency, such as Run Marketing, you minimize the chances of encountering error 400, and your website remains error-free and well optimized for both users and search engines.

FAQs

Q1. What is a 400 Status Code?

A 400 error code is an HTTP response code that indicates the server cannot process the request made by the client due to incorrect syntax, a cache or DNS issue, or a large file size.

Q2. What is the most common cause for a 400 error code? 

The most common reason is a typing mistake in the URL or an issue with the browser's cookies and cache.

Q3. Does a 400 response code affect my SEO?

When search engines are unable to access your content due to a 400 error code, it may prevent pages from being indexed properly.