What the server response tool shows
The tool sits in the Webmaster toolbox. You enter a URL, and Yandex requests it as its own robot, then shows what came back. That is not the same as opening the page in a browser: your browser carries cookies, runs JavaScript and uses your normal IP address, while the robot has none of that.
It gives the fullest picture for URLs of a verified site, so confirm ownership of the domain first. The result includes:
- the HTTP status code;
- server response time;
- response headers: content type, caching, redirect target, and X-Robots-Tag if present;
- the page content the robot actually received.
How to check server response code and read the result
Start with the code, then always read the content. A 200 means the page was served, but if the body is a “prove you are not a robot” screen or an empty template instead of your product card, the real problem is still there.
The other codes mean this:
- 301 and 302: redirects. Check the Location header. Does it point to the right page, is the move permanent (it should be 301), and is there a chain of several hops? If an online shop suddenly sends 302 to a mobile version, a rule you forgot about may have fired.
- 401: the page is behind a password.
- 403: access denied. Most often a server shield took the robot for a bad bot.
- 404: not found. Fine for removed pages, but for live sections check the address and the publish status in your CMS.
- 410: gone for good. A correct answer for a product you have withdrawn and will not bring back.
- 500, 502, 503, 504: server errors.
Server errors: when to act
A single 5xx is usually harmless, since hosting may simply have restarted. If it repeats, the robot visits less often and pages can fall out of search. Look at error logs, load and timeouts, especially on sale days when many shoppers arrive from Instagram and Telegram at once.
A 503 is acceptable only during planned maintenance. If it stays after the work is done, something is broken.
When the browser and the robot see different things
The most common case is a site behind a protection service or CDN that shows new visitors a browser check. A person passes it without noticing, while the robot gets a 403 or 503 and the check text instead of your page. It often appears right after protection is switched on or the site moves to a new host.
Such services, and the firewall at your hosting provider, usually have exceptions for known search robots. Make sure they are enabled, then run the check again. If Yandex gets 403 while Google’s live URL test in Search Console shows 200, a rule is blocking just one bot.
Response time and headers
A slow answer can limit how fast the robot crawls. Compare the time with what you see in a browser and test at different hours. A big gap suggests the page is rebuilt without cache for the robot, or that a database query is too heavy.
Headers matter too. X-Robots-Tag can keep a page out of the index, and you will not see that in the page code. Caching headers influence how often the robot asks for the page again.
Which URLs to test
Do not stop at the home page. Every variant of an address should return either 200 (the main one) or a 301 to it:
- with and without www;
- http and https;
- with and without a trailing slash;
- robots.txt and sitemap.xml, because an error there affects crawling of the whole site;
- catalog pages and key landing pages;
- URLs touched by newly configured redirects.
When to use it and what to add
Run the check after setting up redirects, after connecting a CDN or bot protection, before moving to a new server, when an important page disappears from search, and when Webmaster diagnostics report availability errors. The tool checks one URL at a time, so for the whole site use a crawler and your server logs. The crawl statistics in Webmaster show which codes the robot received over a period.
If your site keeps losing pages because of redirects, hosting or protection rules, the cause usually dates back to development. At markdev we build websites in Uzbekistan from start to finish and set up URLs, redirects and robot access correctly from day one. If you want to go through your own case, write to us and we will discuss the task.
FAQ
Why does the page open in my browser but Webmaster shows an error?
The robot cannot pass checks that a person passes: a browser challenge, IP rules or user-agent rules. So it may receive 403 or 503 while the browser shows a normal page.
Which code should I use for a permanent move?
301. A 302 means a temporary redirect and is not suitable for a permanent move.
Is a 200 code enough for a page to appear in search?
No. The content must match what a person sees, and the page must not be blocked through noindex, X-Robots-Tag or a canonical pointing elsewhere.
Can I test the whole site at once?
The tool checks one URL at a time. For bulk checks use a crawler and server logs, and see the overall picture in the crawl statistics in Webmaster.
Let’s look at your task for free
Leave your contact — in a 15-minute call we’ll show where leads get lost and what to fix first.