10 Ways to Overcome the 502 Bad Gateway Error on Websites [Super Powerful!]

Information; 10 Ways to Overcome the 502 Bad Gateway Error on Websites [Super Powerful!]

Did you suddenly encounter a 502 Bad Gateway error and are confused about how to solve it? Relax, you've come to the right place!

In this article, we will discuss how to completely fix the WordPress 502 Bad Gateway error. Starting from the meaning of 502 Bad Gateway, its impact on your website, to how to solve the 502 Bad Gateway error.

What is 502 Bad Gateway?

502 Bad Gateway is an error that occurs when a gateway or proxy receives an invalid response from the server. So the browser will display an error 502, and visitors can't access the website.

Well, 502 is an error that is not only found in WordPress, but also other websites with different platforms, such as Shopify or Drupal.

If your website experiences this error, the number of visitors to your website will decrease, and your website's ranking in search results will decrease.

Before getting into how to solve errors, it's a good idea to know the different types of 502 errors based on the notifications that appear:

• Error 502
• HTTP 502
• 502. That's an error
• 502 Bad Gateway
• 502 Service Temporarily Overloaded
• 502 Server Error: The server encountered a temporary error and could not complete your request
• 502 Proxy Error
• HTTP Error 502 - Bad Gateway
• Temporary Error (502)
• 502 Bad Gateway Nginx

What are the Causes of the 502 Bad Gateway Error?

There are many things that can cause a 502 Bad Gateway. Here are some of them:

Uncleared browser cache.

Problematic DNS.

Plugins & themes that need updating.

CDN problems.

Error Logs.

So, in the next section, we'll discuss effective ways to solve the problems that cause the 502 bad gateway error.

How to Overcome 502 Bad Gateway

This error is generally caused by a problem on the server, but not infrequently due to problems from the website itself. Here are various ways to fix the 502 bad gateway error so that your website can be accessed again.

1. Refresh Website Pages

illustration of refresh when experiencing 502 bad gateway error

The first thing you need to do when you encounter a 502 Bad Gateway error is to refresh the website page or by pressing the F5 key on the keyboard. Then, please wait for the next few minutes. The error can be caused by an overloaded server.

To check, please access your website through a different browser or a private browser.

Another way to check, you can use online tools like downforeveryoneorjustme.com. If you want to know more about the tool to check the server, please read the article about the tool to check the website is down or not.

2. Clear Your Browser Cache

Clearing the browser cache is another way to solve the problem. You need to do this method to ensure that the error that appears does not come from the error page stored in your browser.

3. Try Changing Browser

If clearing the browser cache doesn't solve the problem, try switching to a different browser. Trying to switch to incognito mode is also possible. This method can be done to determine whether the problem is in the browser itself.

4. Problem with DNS

Another cause of the 502 Bad Gateway error is DNS issues, for example a domain name does not point to the correct IP address. Errors often occur when you move websites. Therefore, you need to wait up to the next 24 hours for it to complete.

You can also do a DNS flush. This method is not much different from clearing the browser cache.

5. Try Using Other Gadgets

When the cause of the 502 Bad Gateway is not resolved, you need to try the connection using another gadget. Whether it's a laptop, computer, or smartphone. This method needs to be done to determine whether the problem lies in the internet connection or the gadget you are using.

6. Check the Hosting Service

The cause of the 502 error that most often occurs is usually due to a problem with the web hosting you are using. For example, because your website is doing too many queries.

This problem is usually experienced by shared hosting users, where there is a script that will stop requests from querying your website. This is done to prevent the server from going down and affecting other users with the same server.

If the error is due to a problem with the web hosting you are using, we recommend that you switch to a VPS, such as Niagahoster's Cloud VPS Hosting service, etc.

7. Check Plugins and Templates

Your plugins and templates can be the source of the 502 Bad Gateway error. Scripts and queries from your website may be stopped by the server system due to a problematic WordPress script. Well, the source of these problems is often found in the plugins or templates you install.

To overcome this, you can check by deactivating all plugins, then try to access your website again before making sure the error is still there or not.

To deactivate a plugin, please login to the WordPress dashboard first then select the Plugins menu > Installed Plugins. Then, tick all plugins, select Deactivate in the dropdown menu and click Apply. Visualization of further explanation you can see in the image below.

If the WordPress dashboard on your WordPress hosting is not accessible, you can disable the plugin via an FTP client such as FileZilla. To deactivate a plugin, you can rename the plugins folder to another name, for example plugins-disabled.

Next, access the plugins folder by going to the main directory of your WordPress installation, then opening the wp-content folder.

If the error no longer appears, please reactivate your plugins one by one through the WordPress dashboard. Don't forget to rename the plugins folder that you previously changed.

8. Temporarily Disable CDN

If your website uses a CDN such as CloudFlare, please disable it temporarily by changing the CloudFlare nameservers with your hosting nameservers.

9. Check the Error Log

If the 502 bad gateway error appears on the website after you make certain changes, then it is most likely that the change caused the error. Looking at the error log is one way to find out.

To enable error log in wordpress, you simply add a few lines below to wp-config.

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true ); 

define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true ); 

define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

To see the entry changes that occurred, you can access the wp-contents/debug.log file to analyze the errors that occurred.

10. Contact Customer Support

This method is the last step when the 502 Bad Gateway problem is not resolved using some of the methods described above. Describe the chronology and time you encountered this 502 error.

What are the Effects of the 502 Bad Gateway Error on Websites?

Once you know how to fix error 502, you can prevent some of the most common website problems that arise because of this problem, including:

1. Decreased SEO Performance

The 502 Bad Gateway error directly affects the SEO performance of the website. The reputation of the website on search engines will be increasingly free fall because potential visitors continuously fail to access the website.

2. Failed to Get Visitors and Buyers

What happens if potential visitors continue to be faced with the 502 Bad Gateway Error page? Of course, they will feel disappointed.

Some visitors may want to tolerate and return to their website. However, there are also those who will not return to your website.

If a website fails to get visitors, how can a purchase happen? That means, the influence of 502 Bad Gateway not only has a negative impact on your website, but also your business as a whole.

Goodbye Error 502 Bad Gateway!

Those are some ways to overcome 502 Bad Gateway on your website. As we explained earlier, these errors are usually not caused from the client side, but because of a problem with the server.

In addition, plugins or templates with poor code structure can also be the main cause of these errors.