The 403 Forbidden error indicates that the server understands the request but can’t provide additional access. This means that the web page you’re trying to open in your browser is a resource that you’re not allowed to access.
| Error Code | 403 |
| Error Type | Authentication error |
| Error Variations | Forbidden – You don’t have permission to access / on this server 403 – Forbidden: Access is denied Error 403 – Forbidden 403 – Forbidden Error – You are not allowed to access this address 403 Forbidden – nginx |
| Error Causes | Corrupt .htaccess file Incorrect file permissions Plugin issues |
Like many other common errors, the 403 Forbidden error is an HTTP status code that a web server uses to communicate with your web browser.
Quick background on HTTP status codes – whenever you connect to a website with your browser, the web server responds with something called an HTTP header. Usually, this all happens behind the scenes because everything is working normally (that’s a 200 status code, in case you were wondering).
However, if something goes wrong, the server will respond back with a different numbered HTTP status code. While these numbers are frustrating to encounter, they’re actually quite important because they help you diagnose exactly what’s going wrong on your site.
The 403 Forbidden error means that your web server understands the request that the client (i.e. your browser) is making, but the server will not fulfill it.
In more human-friendly terms, it basically means that your server knows exactly what you want to do, it just won’t let you do it because you don’t have the proper permissions for some reason. It’s kind of like you’re trying to get into a private event, but your name got accidentally removed from the guestlist for some reason.
Other HTTP status codes mean different things. We’ve written guides on fixing issues with:
