You’ve probably experienced the frustration of visiting a website only to be confronted with an error page. One of the worst things you can do as a business is fail to satisfy your audience’s needs and expectations. When visitors to your website are looking for help or information and get an error page, they may feel frustrated and lose trust in your brand, damaging your reputation irrevocably. In this case, you’ll need help from a fullstack dev.
The 504 Gateway Timeout Error is one example of a bug that might harm the user experience in this way. To assist you prevent losing brand sentiment and consumer trust, we’ve broken down exactly what this problem comprises through our fullstack dev, as well as the most common causes and solutions.
When A Connection Is Lost, A 504 Gateway Timeout Error Is Generated
A 504 Gateway Timeout Error was sent by your web server when it attempted to load one of your web pages, indicating that it did not receive a timely response from another server upstream. Simply said, your web servers can’t connect with each other fast enough. A 504 Gateway Timeout Error is so wide that it can’t pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. Visitors to your website will be directed to an error page if this happens.
504 Errors In Wording
On one server, a 504 Gateway Timeout Error occurs, as shown in the image above. A 504 error might display in a variety of ways, depending on the server, operating system, or browser you’re using.
In Google Chrome, a 504 error is shown as HTTP ERROR 504. This code will appear behind a notice that reads, “This site is currently unavailable.” “It took far too long for you to respond.”
In Windows-based programs, a 504 error will be shown as ERROR 504, HTTP STATUS GATEWAY TIMEOUT, or “The request was timed out waiting for a gateway message.”
During a Windows Update, a Gateway Timeout Error generates an error code of 0x80244023.
On some operating systems, web servers, or browsers, a 504 error may result in the following message, but it’s less common: “The proxy server did not get a timely response from the upstream server.”
What does the 504 error truly indicate given that we know how it’s phrased? Let’s have a look at how to break it down.
What Does A 504 Gateway Timeout Mean Exactly?
Your server makes a request to the website’s host server when you visit a website. The “upstream server” receives the request and supplies whatever resources are needed to load the page in your browser.
A 504 Gateway Timeout error, on the other hand, indicates that the upstream server did not respond in a timely manner. Since its request timed out, your server is unable to load the web page and, as a result, execute its role as a gateway — therefore the error code “Gateway Timeout.”
You could wonder what’s taking so long for the upstream server to respond, and that’s a fair question. Let’s take a closer look at it down below.
Related: What is website maintenance?
504 Gateway Timeout Causes
The 504 Gateway Timeout Error is one of the most irritating HTTP status codes. They tell you what happened to your website, but not why, making it tough to figure out what went wrong and, ultimately, how to solve it.
Below are a few possibilities.
Connectivity Issues With The Server
The bulk of websites are hosted by third-party hosting providers or on many servers. If your server is down for maintenance or any other reason, visitors to your website may see a 504 Gateway Timeout Error page. You’ll need a fullstack dev to help you fix things out.
DNS Modifications
If you’ve recently moved servers or migrated your website to a new IP address, it’ll make changes to your DNS server. Your visitors may see a 504 Gateway Timeout Error page as a result of this. Your website will not be accessible until the DNS adjustments are complete, which might take several hours.
Configurations Of The Firewall That Aren’t Up To Part
The firewall on your website functions as a gatekeeper, protecting it against malicious visitors and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Requests from a content delivery network may be misunderstood as an attack on your server and refused due to a faulty firewall configuration, resulting in a 504 Gateway Timeout Error.
Errors In The Code On Your Website
Your server may be unable to react effectively to requests from a content delivery network if your website’s code has an error.
Network Connectivity Errors
The issue is most likely with the server, asking for a fullstack dev, not the user’s internet connection or device, because a 504 error is caused by a server timeout during the execution of a request. If only one user on your site receives a 504 error, the problem might be with their modem, router, or other equipment, or with their internet connection.
Because there are so many probable explanations from a fullstack dev for a 504 error, you’ll have to rule them out one by one until you find the true culprit. Most 504 Gateway Timeout Errors may be addressed with one of five easy and effective solutions.
Related: What is web design and development?
How To Fix 504 Gateway Timeout Errors
1. Look For Issues With The Server Connection.
If your server is down for maintenance or any other reason, your website will most likely offer users a 504 Gateway Timeout Error page. The only way to fix this issue is to wait for your server to finish maintenance or to fix the problem that is causing the error.
2. Pay Attention To Any Dns Changes.
You’ll need to change your DNS server if you’ve recently switched hosting providers or moved your website to a new IP address. Because these DNS upgrades take a few hours to take effect, your website may temporarily display a 504 Gateway Timeout Error page to users. Only by waiting for the DNS upgrades to take effect will you be able to prevent this.
3. Use A Fine Tooth Comb To Go Over Your Logs.
If the problem isn’t with your server’s connection or DNS information, go into your server logs or contact a fullstack dev. These logs include information about your server’s health and status. Sifting through them may discover other issues that are causing the 504 error.
4. Fix Any Firewall Configurations That Aren’t Operating Correctly.
A faulty firewall setup might be the source of your 504 Gateway Timeout Error. To rule out your firewall as the source of the problem, briefly disable it.
Go to your control panel and choose Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & Threat Protection > Manage Settings from the drop-down menu if your device is running Windows. This page’s settings allow you to disable your firewall.
To disable the firewall on Mac OS, navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall.
After you’ve stopped your firewall, check to see if the 504 error has been resolved. If this is the case, you may either alter your current antivirus application’s settings or install a new one.
If the issue persists, make sure to restart your firewall before moving on to the next step.
5. Look For Faults In Your Website’s Coding.
Check for bugs in your code, or copy it to a development machine. It’ll execute a comprehensive debug procedure, mimicking the events that led to your 504 Gateway Timeout Error and fullstack developer helps you to figure out what went wrong.
6. Contact Your Web Hosting Provider.
It should only be used as a last resort by fullstack developer when contacting your hosting company. If you’ve followed the steps above and are still receiving the 504 Gateway Timeout error, they may be able to assist you in resolving the issue or provide relevant information.
Related: What Is Lead Nurturing And What Are The Right Tactics?
What Are The Consequences Of 504 Gateway Timeout Errors In SEO?
Fixing a 504 Gateway Timeout Error is time-consuming, but it’s well worth it when you consider the potential harm to your site’s technical SEO.
Your website will not load if you receive a 504 Gateway Timeout problem, which is similar to an HTTP 500 Internal Server Problem, a 503 error, or any other 5xx error. Not only does this diminish the user experience, but it also hurts your SEO ranking.
A web crawler like fullstack developer will be unable to crawl one of your sites if it returns a 504 error. If a page has already been indexed, it may lose its position in the search engine rankings. If the error persists, it may be deindexed.
How to Fix the 504 Gateway Timeout Error
Although there is no certain way to prevent 504 Gateway Timeout Errors on your site, you may take steps to mitigate the problem by hiring a fullstack developer. You’ll ensure that visitors continue to have a great experience on your site and that any negative SEO consequences are minimized by correcting this issue as quickly as possible.
Related: Lead Generation: Can It Be Useful For Your Products?
