Error examples

400: Bad request

The server can’t process the information because it’s not complete or is in the wrong format.

Use the

error page pattern for 400 errors.

Good example:

You must fix the following Your email must contain an @ character The date you registered must be in the past

401: Unauthorized

Do not use error pages for authentication errors (401 error codes). Instead, if the user is logged out automatically, actively redirect them to the login page when it happens and explain why they were logged out using the error banner pattern.

403: Forbidden

The user doesn’t have permissions to do what they’re trying to do.

Use the error page pattern for 403 errors.

Good example:

You can’t access this page You don’t have permission. If you think this is a mistake, contact your administrator: admin@example.co.

404: Not found

The page is missing. This is when the user typed a bad URL or clicked on a broken link. It’s different from 410 Gone where we know that the page has been deleted.

Use the error page pattern for 404 errors.

Good example:

We can’t find the page you’re looking for If you typed in the URL, check it’s correct. If you clicked a link, contact your administrator and tell them it’s broken: admin@example.co.

408: Request timeout

The server did not respond after an acceptable amount of time.

Use the error page pattern for 408 errors.

Good example:

The page took too long to load This is probably temporary. Wait 1 minute and try again. If this keeps happening, contact your administrator: admin@example.co.

410: Gone

Similar to 404, but instead of being missing we know it’s been deleted.

Use the error page pattern for 404 errors.

Good example:

This page has been permanently deleted You can go back, or go home.

429: Too many requests

The user has tried too many actions in a short space of time.

Use the error page pattern for 429 errors.

Good example:

We’ve temporary limited what you can do We have a limit of 30 actions per minute, per user. Wait 1 minute and then try again. If this keeps happening contact your administrator: admin@example.co.

500: Internal server error

A generic status code, usually used when the application crashes for some unknown reason. It is acceptable to apologize when handling a 500 error.

Use the error page pattern for 500 errors.

Good example:

Sorry, there’s a problem with the application We aren’t sure what went wrong. If this keeps happening, contact your administrator: admin@example.co with the error code: 0x000345.

502: Bad gateway

The server reached out to another system and got a response, but could not complete the action for some reason..

Use the error banner pattern for 502 errors.

Good example:

We could not save your data to AWS We don’t know what went wrong. You can try again. If this keeps happening, contact your administrator: admin@example.co.

503: Service unavailable

The server can’t do what you asked it to do. It may be overloaded or offline for maintenance. It is acceptable to apologize when handling a 503 error.

Use the error page pattern for 503 errors.

Good example:

Sorry, there’s a problem with the application It might just be busy. Wait for 1 minute and try again. If this keeps happening, contact your administrator: admin@example.co.

504: Gateway timeout

The server reached out to another system, but the other system took too long to respond.

Use the error banner pattern for 504 errors.

Good example:

We could not save your data to AWS AWS took too long to respond. It might just be busy. Wait 1 minute and try again. If this keeps happening, contact your administrator: admin@example.co.

507: Insufficient storage

The storage space on the server has run out.

Use the error banner pattern for 507 errors.

Good example:

We could not save your dashboard Your storage is full. You can delete some data and try again, or you can contact your administrator to upgrade your storage: admin@example.co.