The 410 status code or 410 error appears in the browser when the user tried to access a URL that has been permanently deleted. The exact formulation of the error code depends on the website server. Possible variants include “Error 410”, “Gone”, “HTTP Status 410” or “410 Gone”. The specific technical implementation of the delivery of the 410 status code also depends on the web server used.
What is a 410 status code useful for?
Search engines adapt their index to the new circumstances more quickly if permanently deleted pages are also declared as such. With a status code 410, Internet users can better see that a website they have accessed previously existed, but has now been deleted forever. If the deliberate deletion of a web resource is followed by the output of the status code 410, the linking other websites know that the link has to be deleted or adapted.
Practical use cases for the 410 bug
When looking after web projects, there are various scenarios in which the use of the 410 error is worthwhile:
- Deletion of URLs that a CMS has created in an uncontrolled manner
- Mass deletion of redundant or obsolete content
- Mass deletion of discounted or discontinued products in web shops
- Delete URLs that hackers created automatically
- Deletion of URLs that generated too little traffic
That means the error 410 for search engines
According to deluxesurveillance, the 410 error tells the search engine robot that a website no longer exists and no longer needs to be visited. Therefore, such an error page is efficient in some cases. A temporary, manually created 410 page gives the search engine precise information that it should remove the old link from its directory. This avoids unnecessary traffic competition to the newer, correct link.
A 410 status code should be set if there is no better option such as redirecting to a similar page. In terms of usability, however, it is recommended to set up an individual 410 page that can also be understood by potential customers with little network affinity. A text that describes the end of a product line or service and leads back to the main page or the service area is ideal.
What other error codes do websites have?
The 410 error code is sometimes confused with the 404 error code, as both tell users that a selected web resource cannot be found. However, the 404 error page gives the search engine less specific information. Which variant you use depends on whether the website is to be switched off temporarily or forever.
If a homepage has not been deleted manually but is temporarily unavailable on the server side, the status code 503 is displayed. This refers to a technical problem that has completely different causes than a status code 410. As a website administrator, however, you are planning a temporary redirection to another subpage, but you want the rankingsdo not endanger the actual page, it is recommended to use the status code 302.
Detecting whether a status code 410 is set
There are various software tools that can be used to find out whether a URL is causing a 410 error. For example, the Chrome browser has a feature for this in the developer tools under “Network”. There is also the Ayima Redirect Path browser plug-in and various other web tools that can provide this information.
