HTTP Status Codes & Methods Explained

Every time you browse the internet, your browser and the server talk to each other using HTTP - the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This “language” defines how requests and responses work between clients and servers.

What Are HTTP Status Codes? ​

HTTP status codes tell you what happened to your request. They’re divided into five main categories:

• 1xx - Informational: The request is received and being processed.
• 2xx - Success: Everything went well! For example:
  • 200 OK: Request succeeded.
  • 201 Created: A new resource was created (e.g., after a POST).
• 3xx - Redirection: You’re being redirected somewhere else.
  • 301 Moved Permanently or 302 Found are common.
• 4xx - Client Error: Something’s wrong with your request.
  • 400 Bad Request or 404 Not Found (the most famous one ).
• 5xx - Server Error: The issue is on the server side.
  • 500 Internal Server Error or 503 Service Unavailable.

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Common HTTP Methods ​

Methods tell the server what kind of action you want to perform:

• GET: Retrieve information from a server (e.g., load a web page).
• POST: Send data to the server (like submitting a form).
• PUT: Update or replace an existing resource.
• DELETE: Remove a resource from the server.
• HEAD: Like GET, but returns only headers (useful for testing).
• PATCH: Partially update a resource.

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Example of an HTTP Request ​

POST /login HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "12345"
}

If everything works fine, the server responds:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "message": "Login successful!"
}

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Why These Matter for Developers ​

Understanding status codes and methods helps you:

• Debug web apps faster.
• Write cleaner APIs.
• Improve user experience (e.g., proper error handling).

Whether you’re building websites or testing APIs, mastering HTTP basics is a must for every developer