Introduction

You must be familiar with the 404 page not found status code that often appears on the browser when it cannot find the requested webpage. You will be surprised to know that there are different status codes for all the responses the server has to a request. 2xx series codes are part of the HTTP status codes, which indicate that the client’s request was successful.

What is HTTP Status?

HTTP status codes are responses from the server to the browser-side requests. These status codes help communicate between the server and the internet browser. The status codes are divided into multiple classes based on the information they are communicating. You can identify the classes of these codes through the first digit. For example, the 4xx status codes will indicate that the page or website could not be reached due to some reason. On the other hand, a 2xx status code means that the request you made was completed successfully. The 2xx series HTTP status codes can be further segmented into several sub-categories.

The HTTP 200-OK

When the server responds with a 200 OK status code, it means that the request from the browser was successful. However, the meaning of success may vary depending on the request method used. Here is what they mean:
  • GET: This means the requested resource has been fetched and transmitted to the message body.
  • HEAD: This indicates that the header fields from the requested resource are delivered without the message body.
  • POST or PUT: This suggests that a description of the result of the performed action is transmitted to the message body.
  • TRACE: This means the request messages that are received by the server will be included in the message body.
The 200 OK status code indicates that the page (or website) is functioning correctly and efficiently, which is good for SEO. It also means that search engine crawlers can successfully crawl the page and help with indexing.

The HTTP 201- Created

When the server responds with a 201 status code, it means that the request was successful and one or more new resources have been created because of the request. Generally, the location of the new resource is found in the server’s response - either within the request’s URI or the Location Header.

The HTTP 202- Accepted 

This status code indicates that the request has been accepted for processing. However, the processing has not been completed. The request may or may not eventually be upon as the request may be disallowed when processing occurs. There is no facility for status returns from such operations as they are asynchronous.

The HTTP 204- No Content

When the server responds with a 204 status code, it means the request was successful. However, there is no content to be returned. This usually happens when an action is completed on the original server, informing the client that the action was successful. These 204 responses do not contain payloads, and Cloudflare does not cache them.

Conclusion

When the server responds with 2xx status codes, it generally means that the requests have been successful. While different codes in the 2xx series indicate different things, they usually have a positive impact on the user experience and help with the SEO.