How to Fix the 504 Gateway Timeout Error Easily

504 Gateway Timeout Meaning

When you visit websites, you may encounter the 504 Gateway Timeout error. What does 504 Gateway Timeout mean? This error means that your web server didn’t receive a timely response from another server upstream when it attempted to load one of your web pages. It usually occurs when the server takes too long to complete this request.

In addition, depending on the server, operating system, or browser you’re using, the 504 Gateway Timeout error may have the following variations:

• 504 Gateway Timeout NGINX.
• NGINX 504 Gateway Timeout.
• Gateway Timeout Error.
• Error 504.
• HTTP Error 504.
• HTTP Error 504 — Gateway Timeout.
• HTTP 504.
• 504 Error.
• Gateway Timeout (504).
• This page isn’t working — Domain took too long to respond.
• 504 Gateway Time-out — The server didn’t respond in time.
• The page request was canceled because it took too long to complete.
• Site visitors: There was an issue serving your request, please try again in a few minutes.
• Site Owners: There was a gateway timeout. You should visit your error log for more information.
• A blank white screen.

What Causes the 504 Gateway Timeout Error?

You may receive the HTTP 504 error code for the following reasons:

• Web server overload. There is too much traffic to the website so it responds to browser requests slowly, causing the other server to time them out.
• The server is down. If the HTTP 504 error code happens suddenly to almost all users, you should consider this possibility.
• Incorrect networking settings. For example, incorrect proxy settings, incorrect router settings, incorrect firewall settings, etc.
• Other server errors. For example, the DNS server of the website has been changed, the website has been attacked by Spam, Bots, or DDoS, and other cases.

How to Fix the 504 Gateway Timeout Error

If you are just an individual user encountering the HTTP 504 error code, you can try the following methods to solve the problem.

• Refresh the web page by pressing the F5 button on a Windows machine or the Cmd + R key combination on a macOS. If the server is overloaded temporarily, this method may work.
• Use website down checker tools to see if the server is down.
• Restart your router or computer.
• If you browse the Internet via proxy servers, the proxy service may alter your computer’s IP address to hide your original location, or encrypt your web requests to keep prying eyes away. If necessary, you can go to Windows Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy to disable the proxy settings.
• Flush the DNS cache by executing the command “ipconfig /flushdns” on Command Prompt. If the DNS server of the website has changed, this way may remove the 504 error code.
• Contact your ISP to see if there are any connectivity issues from their end.
• Contact the website to see if there are any issues on the server end.

If you are a website owner, the 504 Gateway Timeout error on your website will reduce the traffic on your website and affect your SEO ranking. Fortunately, you can try the following methods to solve this problem. 

• When you transfer your website to another web server, you need to change your domain’s DNS records accordingly.
• A CDN service may cause the 504 Gateway Timeout error. To check that, insert the line “your-hostin-server-IP yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com” into your host’s file instructing your computer to load the site from the origin server. Then, if the site loads normally, you can confirm that. Then, bypassing or disabling the CDN temporarily may solve the error.
• Scrubbing through your server logs can help you pinpoint the culprit for a 504 error. It can help you solve the issue more easily.
• If the HTTP 504 error code is caused by malicious bots crawling your site at excessive rates, you can block the offending IPs from accessing your website.
• Popular WordPress sites and online shops tend to experience 504 errors significantly often. You can solve the problem by switching to a faster connection, disabling your WordPress Firewall, inspecting your site’s .htaccess, etc.

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