Strangely (or not? ... calling lee.n3o for an opinionOf 2000 servers tested, only 69% got an ‘A+’, which I defined as:
* A server that delivers a ’200′ response code for the home page…
* A ’404′ code for a broken link pointing at an ASPX .NET page…
* A ’404′ code for a broken link pointing at a PHP page…
* …and a ’404′ code for a broken link pointing at an HTML page on their site.
) only 22% of .NET servers tested got it right.He goes into some detail.
Which raises some questions for Cre8 members:
* have you ever tested your sites' response codes?
* if no: why not?
* if yes: when, i.e. on initial setup, once a year...?
* if yes: how often have you found a response error?
To start things off:
I check each site on initial 'going live', each page on being published; then test each site in daily increments such that every page is re-checked once a month.
I have found response errors a number of times which is why I test as I do.
Note: the response code checking procedure is part of a larger test regimen including checking for broken links, altered content at external URLs, etc. A webdev's maintenance is never done.
For more reading about HTTP Response Headers:
* HTTP Response Headers, Microsoft MSDN Library.
* HTTP/1.1 Header Field Definitions, W3.org
* The X-Frame-Options response header, Mozilla Development Network.
* Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1, IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) Tools
