When a server receives a request from a client, it provides a response that includes both the requested data and a 3-digit status code that succinctly communicates the request's outcome or status.

Clients use these standardized sets of codes to determine if a request has been properly handled, whether more action is required, or whether an error has occurred.

HTTP status codes are divided into five categories, each identified by the first digit of the code:

🟣 Informational (1xx): The request was received, and the process is continuing. 🟢 Success (2xx): The request was successfully received, understood, and accepted. 🔵 Redirection (3xx): The request needs further action to be completed. 🟠 Client error (4xx): The request contains incorrect syntax or cannot be fulfilled by the server. 🔴 Server error (5xx): The server failed to fulfill a valid request.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁/𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄.

Server 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 for HTTP 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 in web development including:

🔸 Efficient communication 🔸 Reliability and troubleshooting 🔸 Error identification 🔸 Facilitating automation 🔸 Providing user feedback 🔸 And much more…

Below are some 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀:

🔹 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀: Use the most specific status code that accurately describes the outcome of an operation. 🔹 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: Maintain consistency in how you use status codes across your application. 🔹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀: Send additional info in the response body or headers to provide more context. 🔹 𝗟𝗼𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿: Logging and monitoring of the status codes your app is sending and receiving can help in performance tuning, detecting anomalies, and debugging.

Although HTTP status codes may seem like a small and simple aspect of web development, they play an indispensable role in client, server communication. Understanding and utilizing the status codes effectively is a fundamental part of developing sound applications.