Most of us have encountered a 404 error while browsing the internet. That occurs when the requested page cannot be found on the server. Similarly, the server responds with different status codes to the browser to indicate whether the requests can fulfilled or not. You get HTTP 2xx series codes when the HTTP requests are successful.
The HTTP 200 OK or 200 status code is a server’s status response code for successful HTTP requests from a client (browser). If you receive this code for a web page, it means the page’s HTML code can be loaded successfully. However, the meaning of success depends on the type of request method used:
By default, a 200 response is cacheable.
As mentioned, the 200 response code indicates that the users can access the requested pages of a website without any trouble. In other words, a 200 status code leads to a better user experience. So, if you are a website owner and want your audience to spend more time on your website, you want to make sure the server responds with 200 OK status for the maximum number of pages on the website.
Since this status code confirms that everything on the page is working as it should, you can use such pages to your advantage. These codes play a crucial role in the search engine optimization of the pages as they help search engines understand that the resource is delivered to the users correctly.
200 status code has a positive impact on SEO. It indicates that search engine crawlers can easily access the pages and the links on them. This means the pages can be indexed properly and can appear in relevant Google searches. Since a 200 status code indicates better website health, users will be able to access its information more easily.
Now, search engines like Google are focusing more on improving the user experience for searches. This is why they are more likely to give better ranks to the webpages that are easy to comprehend by the users as well as the search engine bots. Since a positive user experience leads to lower bounce rates, the search engines may also find webpages with 200 status codes more useful for the audience.
A 200 status code implies that the request was accepted and processed. On the other hand, a 202 status code indicates that the processing has not been completed or is yet to start while the request was accepted.
200 OK status code also suggests that the response is the final payload, and the service will take no further action. With this status code, you should expect the processing to be successful.
When you get a 202 Accepted status code, it means the request has been accepted for processing, and the service will start soon. This does not mean that the processing is successful, nor has the process been completed.
Generally, a 200 status code is used for a majority of successful requests. In comparison, a 204 status code indicates that the server has processed the request successfully, but there is no content to return to the user.
204 No Content status code is typically used in response to a “Delete” request, where the server successfully removes a resource, but there is no content to return to the client. For example, if the client sends a “Delete” request to remove a user account on a service, the server is most likely to respond with a 204 status code, indicating that the request was successful and the resource was deleted.
HTTP response status code 200 OK implies that the HTTP request was successful. Since it indicates that the web page is working as it should, it signals the search engine crawlers to access the page and the links on it. This enables the page to appear on search results and drive more traffic to the website.
Moreover, the users are able to access the pages with a 200 status code without any trouble. As the status code is also linked to a better user experience, you would want every page on your website to receive a 200 OK status code from the server.