A Complete Guide to the “410 Gone” Error

If you incorrectly type a URL, you may see a 404 error explaining that this web page doesn’t exist. However, if the page has been deleted, you’ll likely receive a “410 Gone” status code. This means you won’t be able to access the page at all.

Fortunately, there are a few easy ways to fix the “410 Gone” error. If it happens to your website, you can examine your site logs and reconfigure your server to resolve the issue. Alternatively, you can troubleshoot this error on the client side by rolling back recent updates or uninstalling new plugins.

In this post, we’ll explain what error 410 is and discuss its potential causes. Then, we’ll show you how to fix it on both the client and server sides. Let’s get started!

What Is the “410 Gone” Error?

When someone clicks on a web page, their browser makes a request to the website’s server. After processing the request, the server will send the relevant site files, displaying the requested information.

Although you may not see it, the server will also send a status code in an HTTP header. These HTTP status codes indicate whether the request was a success or a failure.

Here are some different types of HTTP status codes:

• 100s: Informational requests
• 200s: Successful requests
• 300s: Redirects
• 400s: Client-side errors
• 500s: Server-side errors

The “410 Gone” error is a 400 HTTP status code that indicates that the target resource has been permanently deleted. In this case, the server can’t complete the request because the page does not exist.

Depending on your browser, the 410 error can appear in a few different ways:

• 410 Gone
• Gone
• Error 410
• HTTP Status 410

As a website owner, it’s important to monitor your status codes and fix any errors when they occur. If new visitors can’t find the information they’re looking for, they may turn to a competitor instead. To resolve the “410 Gone” error, you’ll first need to know what’s causing it.

What Causes the “410 Gone” Error?

Since the “410 Gone” error is categorized as a 400 HTTP status code, you may think that it only occurs as a client-side error. However, this can happen on both the server and client sides.

A user might make a mistake when typing a URL. In many cases, this results in a “404 Not Found” error. However, it’s possible to get an error 410 if the resource once existed at that URL and the server was configured to return a “410 Gone” status code.

If you’ve recently made changes to your Content Management System (CMS), you could inadvertently trigger a “410 Gone” status code. Sometimes, new plugins, updates, or extensions can make changes to your database, leading to this error.

Alternatively, error 410 can be the result of incorrect server configuration. If you search your log files for unwanted 410 redirects, you’ll likely find the source of the issue.

The 410 HTTP status code can also be intentional. If you’re running a time-sensitive promotion on your website, that web page will only be available for a certain period:

If someone clicks on this promotional link after the sale is finished, you can redirect them to a “410 Gone” error. This will let them know that the page was taken down and won’t be coming back.

The Difference Between the “410 Gone” and the “404 Not Found” Error

Both the “410 Gone” and “404 Not Found” errors indicate that the resource cannot be retrieved. However, there are a few main differences between the two HTTP status codes.

404 Not Found is one of the most common HTTP status codes. When you see this error, it means that the requested resource doesn’t exist:

However, a “404 Not Found” error is a temporary problem. This means that you can try the URL again later to see if the problem has been resolved.

With a “410 Gone” error, the requested page has been permanently deleted. When search crawlers identify this HTTP status code, they will de-index the link. This can also inform other website owners to remove this link from their content.

If you don’t need a particular page anymore, it can be useful to implement a “410 Gone” redirect. However, if these errors happen on their own, you’ll need to fix them to keep your website performing properly.

How To Fix the “410 Gone” Error (2 Methods)

There are many ways you can fix the “410 Gone” error. By troubleshooting both the client and server sides, you can ensure that your content can be viewed by visitors and indexed by search engines. Since many of these methods involve altering site files, updates, and plugins, we recommend backing up your website first.

Method 1: Investigating a Client-Side “410 Gone” Error

Before you start making changes to your server, you can troubleshoot your website on the client side. This can be a simple way to fix the error without altering vital site files.

Step 1: Check the Requested URL

When you first experience the “410 Gone” error, it’s a good idea to check the link. As we discussed earlier, inputting an incorrect URL can cause this HTTP status code.

If you’re trying to reach a web page that has been permanently deleted, it will likely respond with a “410 Gone” error. This happens because the server disallowed access to that URL.

First, you can try retyping the address. If you still see the “410 Gone” status code, you can search for that page by typing in a few keywords in the search engine:

The website owner might have moved that page to a new URL. By searching for some keywords and entering the website’s name, you could find what you’re looking for on a new page.

Step 2: Roll Back Recent Updates

Once you notice that your web page has been replaced with a “410 Gone” error, you can consider downgrading your WordPress software to an older version. Sometimes, implementing new tools can lead to poor configuration or other unexpected problems, like the 410 error.

If you backed up your website before the update, you can easily restore this previous version. With our Kinsta hosting plans, you’ll receive automatic daily backups for all your websites, even your staging sites.

To restore your backup, open your MyKinsta dashboard. Then, go to Sites and select your website:

On the new page, click on the Backups tab. Here, you’ll see a history of your backups:

Find the backup that you want to restore. Next, locate the Restore to button and select whether you want to downgrade your live site or its staging environment:

Finally, you’ll need to confirm the backup restoration:

Once the restoration process is complete, you’ll be able to access your WordPress dashboard again. If the “410 Gone” issue persists, you’ll need to try another method.

Step 3: Uninstall Plugins and Extensions

If you have installed plugins or extensions that alter your URL structure or redirects, these can cause an error 410. You may see this HTTP status code in other cases because of general incompatibility issues. Either way, you can solve the problem by uninstalling these tools.

To see if your plugins are causing the issue, you can deactivate them all. Since 410 errors don’t usually lock you out of the WordPress dashboard, you can do this on your Plugins page.

Start by selecting all of your plugins. Then, from the Bulk actions dropdown menu, click on

Deactivate:

Finally, click on Apply. This should deactivate all the plugins on your website simultaneously.

Now you can check to see if the “410 Gone” error has been resolved. If so, you can reactivate each plugin one by one to find and delete the culprit. If it serves a vital purpose on your website, you can find a similar plugin or contact its developer about the issue.

Method 2: Investigating a Server-Side “410 Gone” Error

Since the “410 Gone” error can result from a server-side issue, you may not see any improvements on the client side of your website. After you’ve tried the first method with no results, you may need to make changes to your server configuration.

Step 1: Review Your Site Logs

You can check your server logs if you want to know whether your server is experiencing any “410 Gone” errors. This will help you monitor all your HTTP status codes and identify what’s causing errors.

If you have a Kinsta hosting plan, you can review your site logs directly from your dashboard. Once you log into MyKinsta, go to Sites > Logs:

The Log viewer will automatically show your error logs, so you’ll need to select access.log from the dropdown menu:

This will display all of the HTTP requests for your website:

Each line will look something like this:

kinstahelptesting.kinsta.cloud 98.43.13.94 [22/Sep/2021:21:26:10 +0000] GET "/wp-admin/" HTTP/1.0 302 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.15; rv:92.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/92.0" 98.43.13.94 "/wp-admin/index.php" - - 472 0.562 0.560

In this example, the request gained a 302 HTTP status code. The requested URL was

“/wp-admin/”

You can scan your HTTP requests for 410 errors in your site logs. You can also use the search bar to narrow down your results. If you find any errors, you can identify the specific web page that is down.

Step 2: Debug Your Website

If the “410 Gone” error persists, it’s time to debug your website. To do this, you can use the Query Monitor plugin. This free tool enables you to view the performance of your database queries, as well as PHP errors, enqueued scripts, HTTP API calls, and more:

First, download and install Query Monitor. Then, click on the new tab at the top of your dashboard. To monitor all of your server-side HTTP requests, select HTTP API Calls:

This will show you all of the server-side queries for your website. Here, you can see if any errors occurred while loading your website:

You’ll likely need to check your server configuration if you notice any “410 Gone” errors. However, if you need any help, you can contact your hosting provider.

Step 3: Verify Your Server Configuration

Your WordPress website has a .htaccess file that contains rules about your server configuration. If you recently made changes to this file, it could create a “410 Gone” error.

To check the configuration of the .htaccess file, you’ll need to open your site files. Often, the easiest way to do this is through a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) client. This will enable you to connect to your server.

If you’re using a Kinsta hosting plan, you can start by logging into your MyKinsta dashboard. Then, navigate to Sites and select your website.

Next, find the SFTP/SSH section. This will contain your login information for SFTP access, including the host number, username, password, and port:

Now you’ll need to open an FTP client like FileZilla. Once you download this software, you’ll need to change the settings from FTP to SFTP access. This provides a safer way to connect to your site.

To do this, go to File > Site Manager:

Here, create a new site. Then, change the Protocol to SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol:

Copy your host and port number from MyKinsta. Next, paste these details into their respective boxes and hit Connect:

To finish connecting to your server, enter your username and password and click on OK:

After you successfully log in, navigate to the public_html folder. Then, find the .htaccess file and open it:

Here’s what your .htaccess file might look like:

# BEGIN WordPress

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine On

RewriteBase /

RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

</IfModule>

However, you may see some changes to this file. If you notice any rules containing a “Redirect 410”, you can go ahead and delete them. If your .htaccess file looks similar to the one listed above, you don’t have to make any changes.

Summary

Although the “410 Gone” status code can be useful for removing expired promotions, it can also occur unexpectedly on your website. When this happens, visitors won’t be able to access your content, and search engines will consider the page permanently removed. You’ll need to fix this error to maintain your ranking in search results.

You can resolve this issue on both the client and server sides of your website. You can simply check the requested URL, downgrade your WordPress software, and uninstall your plugins to get started. To identify a “410 Gone” error on your server, you can review your site logs, debug your website, and verify your server configuration.

When you notice any errors on your website, you’ll likely want to troubleshoot them as soon as possible. Kinsta’s APM tool can immediately identify performance issues and get your content back online in no time!