The Quick & Easy Guide to Fixing 504 Gateway Timeout Errors

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If you’ve ever visited a website that served you an error page, you know how frustrating it is.

One of the worst things you can do as a brand is not meet your audience’s needs and expectations. If your website visitors see an error page when they’re looking for help or information, they could get frustrated and lose trust in your brand, permanently damaging your reputation.

The 504 Gateway Timeout Error is one type of error that can hurt the user experience in this way. To help you avoid losing brand sentiment and consumer trust, we’ve fleshed out exactly what this error means and what its most common causes and solutions are.

Here’s how a 504 Gateway Timeout Error might appear in your user’s browser:

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504 Errors Wording

The screenshot above depicts how a 504 Gateway Timeout Error appears in one server. Below are some other common ways a 504 error might appear, depending on the server, operating system, or browser you’re using.

In Google Chrome, a 504 error will appear as HTTP ERROR 504. This code will appear below a message that reads something like: “This site can’t be reached. _____ took too long to respond.”

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In Windows-based programs, a 504 error will appear as ERROR 504, HTTP_STATUS_GATEWAY_TIMEOUT, or “The request was timed out waiting for a gateway message.” Here’s how it may appear when using Excel:

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During a Windows Update, a Gateway Timeout Error generates a 0x80244023 error code. The message will be: WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_GATEWAY_TIMEOUT.

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In other operating systems, web servers, or browsers, a 504 error may also result in the following message — although it’s less common: “The proxy server did not receive a timely response from the upstream server.” Here’s a slight variation:

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So now we know how the 504 error is worded — but what does it mean exactly? Let’s decode it below.

What does 504 gateway timeout mean?

When visiting a website, your server sends a request to another server where that site is hosted. This server — known as the “upstream server” — receives the request and responds with whatever resources are needed to load the website on your browser.

However, a 504 Gateway Timeout error means that your server didn’t receive a quick enough response from the upstream server. Because its request timed out, your …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog