Error 403 example

Introduction

When a web server denies access to a particular webpage or web content, it displays the 403 Forbidden error. Different web servers report different variations of the 403 Forbidden error.

In this article, you will learn what a 403 error is and how to fix it.

The 403 Forbidden error happens when a web server denies access to a webpage to a user trying to access it trough a web browser. The name «403 error» derives from the HTTP status code that the web server uses to describe that type of error.

There are several variations of the error and several reasons why the web server has denied access. The following sections deal with the different ways the error is displayed and its causes.

Common 403 Error Messages

Like with other errors, webmasters can customize how the 403 error is displayed. Its contents also depend on the web server used. That is why there are many different 403 pages across different websites.

Some common 403 error messages are:

• 403 Forbidden
• HTTP 403
• Forbidden
• HTTP Error 403 – Forbidden
• HTTP Error 403.14 – Forbidden
• Error 403
• Forbidden: You don’t have permission to access [directory] on this server
• Error 403 – Forbidden
• 403 Forbidden Error
• 403 Error

The image above shows an example of a 403 Forbidden error served by an Nginx web server.

What Causes the 403 Forbidden Error

The 403 Forbidden error usually occurs due to access misconfiguration. The misconfiguration involves improper read, write, or execute permission settings for a file or directory.

Possible causes for the 403 Forbidden error are:

• An empty website directory. If there is no index.php or index.html page, the 403 error displays.
• Missing index page. The 403 error may occur if the homepage name isn’t index.html or index.php.
• Permission/ownership errors. Incorrect permission settings or ownership cause the 403 error.
• Incorrect .htaccess file settings. The .htaccess file holds important website configuration settings, and it could be corrupted.
• Malware infection. If your files are infected with malware, it can keep corrupting the .htaccess file.
• Cached outdated webpage. The 403 error comes up if the page link has been updated, which is now different from the cached version.
• Faulty plugin. Improperly configured WordPress plugins or their incompatibility could trigger the 403 error.

The following section deals with different ways of fixing the 403 Forbidden error.

How to Fix the 403 Forbidden Error (Tips for Webmasters)

You can do several things to fix the 403 Forbidden error, depending on whether you are a website visitor or a webmaster.

The following fixes for the 403 Forbidden error are resources for site webmasters:

Check Website Directory

An empty website directory may cause the 403 error. Make sure that the content is in the correct directory on the server.

Depending on the server you are using, the correct directory for your content is:

• For Nginx: /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs/
• For Apache: /home/username/public_html/

If there is no such directory, create one.

Add an Index Page

The website homepage by default is index.html or index.php. If there is no such page on your website, the visitors can encounter a 403 Error. Resolve this by uploading an index page to your httpdocs or public_html directory.

If you already have a homepage named other than index, you can rename it or set up a redirect in your .htaccess file to that homepage.

To redirect to your homepage, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to cPanel and navigate to your public_html directory.

2. Right-click the .htaccess file and choose Edit from the dropdown menu.

3. Redirect the index.php or index.html file to your existing homepage by inserting the following code snippet:

redirect /index.html /homepage.html

Replace homepage.html with the actual name of your page.

Check File and Directory Permissions

Each file and directory on your website have permissions that control access to those files and directories. Incorrect file or directory permissions can cause the 403 Forbidden error. The permissions specify who has read or write access to the file or directory in question.

The permissions are represented with numeric values. The general practice is to use:

• 755 for directories
• 644 for static content
• 700 for dynamic content

You can change file permissions recursively with the chmod command. If you prefer a GUI, use an FTP client to change file or directory permissions.

Create a New .htaccess File

A 403 error can be the result of improper .htaccess file configuration. The .htaccess file controls the high-level website configuration.

Follow the steps below to check if the .htaccess file is the cause of the 403 error:

1. Find the .htaccess file via your file management software (e.g., cPanel) or via an sFTP or FTP client.

2. Right-click the .htaccess file and select Download to create a local backup.

3. Next, click Delete to delete the file.

4. Visit your website. If the 403 error no longer appears, it means that the .htaccess file was corrupt.

5. Now you need to generate a new .htaccess file. Log in to your dashboard and click Settings > Permalinks.

6. Don’t make any changes. Just click the Save Changes button to create a new .htaccess file.

Visit your website to check if the error is fixed.

Enable Directory Browsing

If the website shows a 403 error when you’re trying to browse a directory, you may need to enable directory browsing in your web server software. You can turn on directory browsing in the config file. If you don’t feel confident editing the config files yourself, seek help from a web master or your hosting provider.

The following examples show how to enable directory browsing in different web servers:

• IIS Express

1. Open the Web.config file of your project.

2. Add the following tags within <system.webServer>:

<directoryBrowse enabled="true" />
<modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true" />

• Nginx

Change the autoindex value to on in the config file:

The following is an example of the config file with the on value for autoindex.

server {
 listen 80;
 server_name phoenixnap.com www.phoenixnap.com;
 access_log /var/...........................;
 root /path/to/root;
 location / { index index.php index.html index.htm; }
 location /somedir { autoindex on; }
}

Apache

You have to specify the DirectoryIndex directive in the site’s .conf file (found in /etc/apache2/sites-available on Linux).

Turn on directory browsing in the Options directive. Following is an example of the .conf file with directory browsing turned on:

<Directory /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/listme>
  Options +Indexes
</Directory>

Contact the Hosting Company

The reason for the 403 Forbidden error could be with the hosting company and not with you. If everything else fails to remove the error, get in touch with your hosting company and let them check what could be causing the issue.

Disable WordPress Plugins

Sometimes, a faulty or incompatible plugin is what causes a 403 forbidden error. You can try to fix the error by disabling all plugins to check if the error goes away.

Follow the steps below to disable all plugins:

1. Log into the WP Admin and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.

2. Select all plugins, choose Deactivate from the drop-down menu and click Apply.

3. Try to access your website. If there is no 403 forbidden error, that means that the cause was one of the plugins.

4. Now enable one plugin at a time to determine which one is causing the 403 error. When you find the root of the problem, update or remove the plugin or install an alternative one to resolve the issue.

Check the A Record

One of the reasons for the 403 Forbidden error can be a domain name pointing to the wrong IP address, where you don’t have the permission to view the content. This happens when the A record of a migrated website still points to the old IP address.

Follow the steps below to check if the domain A record points to the right IP address:

1. Log in to cPanel.

2. In the Domains section, click DNS Zone Editor.

3. In the list of DNS records, find the record with the A label in the Type column.

4. Check if the A record IP address in the Record column is correct. If it’s wrong, click Edit to change it.

5. Click Update to finish.

Revisit the website to see if the issue has been resolved.

Scan for Malware

Having malware on your web server can cause the 403 Forbidden error. The malware can keep injecting unwanted lines into the .htaccess file, and that way the error persists even if you generate a new .htaccess file.

Use a security plugin to scan your web server for malware and remove it if any is found. Most plugins also offer actions when detecting malware infected files, such as deleting the infected file or restoring it.

Some of the best security plugins for WordPress are Sucuri, Wordfence, Defender, etc.

How to Fix the 403 Forbidden Error (Tips for Site Visitors)

If you are a site visitor that has encountered the 403 error, below is a list of things you can try to fix the issue.

Check URL

A wrong URL is a common cause of the 403 Forbidden error. Make sure that you’re trying to access an actual webpage instead of a directory.

Many websites don’t allow visitors to browse through directories, so if you are trying to acces a directory, you will likely get a 403 Forbidden error.

Clear History/Cache

Your browser stores cached webpages to load them faster the next time you visit them. Sometimes the website link has been updated, making the actual link different from the cached version. Loading the cached version then results in a 403 error.

The stored cookies on your browser can also cause the 403 error. If the cookies are invalid or corrupted, they can cause improper server authentication. Clearing browser cache and cookies should resolve this issue.

Follow the steps below to clear the cache and cookies on Google Chrome:

1. Click the three-dot button on the top right corner and select Settings.

2. Find the Privacy and security section and click Clear browsing data.

1. In the drop-down menu, select the data deletion time frame.
2. Check the Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files options and click Clear data.

Try to reload the site to see if the problem persists.

Log in

A 403 Forbidden error code could sometimes appear because you need to log in to a website to access a page. If possible, log in with your credentials to gain access to the content.

Reload the Page

Sometimes, reloading the page is the trick to getting around the 403 Forbidden error. Each browser has its own reload button near the address bar. Press Ctrl+F5 on Windows and Linux or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac to reload the page if you prefer using the keyboard.

Try Later

If you aren’t the only one denied access to the website, then the problem is usually with the host. Revisit the site later and see if the issue has been resolved.

Contact Your ISP

If you cannot get around the 403 error on a website, but it works for other people, contact your internet service provider (ISP).

Your IP address could be added to a blocklist, and it is causing the 403 forbidden error. In that case, your ISP cannot help you, and the only way to access the website is to use a VPN.

Conclusion

High website availability provides the best user experience and shows reliability. That is why website owners try to keep their site available at all times and invest in website maintenance services.

Preventing or quickly resolving HTTP errors is crucial if you want to retain your visitors. After reading this guide, you should be able to promptly fix the 403 Forbidden error and keep your business running.

Imagine this – you’ve recently created a new website to host your content, and you’re excited to see it go live. You can’t wait to dive into SEO and begin ranking for keywords and attracting an audience to your brand.

But then a friend emails you and says, «Hey, is there a reason I see this when I click on your website? «

Image Source

Undoubtedly, a «403 Forbidden» message is cause for immediate concern. How many potential viewers are you losing, as they come across your website to find this message?

Fortunately, there are a few quick-and-easy solutions to a 403 error. Here, we’ll explain the top three, so you can get your site up and running.

What you’ll typically see when you land on a page with a 403 forbidden error is something like this: «You don’t have authorization to view this page – HTTP Error 403.»

It can also have slightly different wording, like the example below.

Image Source

Wondering about the difference between a 403 and 404 error? Here it is: A 404 error happens when you access a page that no longer exists or cannot be found. A 403 error, on the other hand, indicates that your access has been denied due to incorrect credentials.

An easy way to remember it: 403 says «access denied» while 404 says «We can’t find what you asked for.»

What causes a 403 error?

There are a few reasons why you may see a 403 forbidden error. Here are the most common:

• Permission or ownership error – Permissions are represented by codes, which indicate what each type of user can do. If you have the incorrect code associated with a file or directory then your users may run into a 403 error.

• Wrong file or folder location – When uploading content to your site, you may have added it to the wrong directory, which is not accessible to your end-users.

• No index page – If your homepage doesn’t have an index page, it will not display correctly on a browser.
• Misconfigured WordPress plugin – A plugin may be blocking IP addresses to avoid malware, causing the 403 forbidden error.

Now that you know the causes, let’s address how to fix them.

How to Fix 403 Errors

1. Set the correct file permissions.

If you’ve configured your web server, you’ll want to add the server to the www-data group, and set ownership of /var/www to the www-data user and www-data group.

Then, make sure your directories are set to 755, your files are set to 644, and your dynamic content is set to 700. This determines which user types (owner, group, everyone) can read, write, and execute.

2. Make sure you have an index page.

Your website’s home page must be called index.html or index.php – if it’s not, you should rename the homepage to include one of those URL names.

Alternatively, you can upload an index page to your httpdocs directory and then set up a redirect on the index page to your real homepage.

3. Upload your website content to the correct directory on your server.

You might see a 403 forbidden message if you haven’t correctly uploaded your content to the directory on your server.

There are several different FTP clients you might’ve chosen to host your domain — let’s say you chose FileZilla, which is free and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

To publish your content online, you’ll need to put your files into the public/htdocs directory.

Note: If you’re using FileZilla, these instructions will vary if you use a different FTP client. Once you’ve dragged and dropped your files into the directory, you should search your website’s URL to double-check they now appear online.

If you’re in your FTP server and don’t see the httpdocs directory, you can create a file within the directory with this title, which could also solve the issue.

4. Deactivate and reactivate your plugins.

If you suspect one of your plugins is responsible for the 403 forbidden error, temporarily deactivate all of your plugins.

You may have noticed the error shortly after installing a plugin. If so, start with that one and work your way down from the most recent installation to the oldest.

Then, one by one, activate each plugin and refresh the page to determine which plugin is causing the error.

As you can see, 403 errors can typically be resolved in just a few easy steps. It’s just about knowing where to look. 

The 403 Forbidden Error is an HTTP response status code that indicates an identified client does not have proper authorization to access the requested content. As with most HTTP response codes, a 403 Forbidden Error can be challenging to diagnose and resolve properly.

With a pool of over 50 potential status codes representing the complex relationship between the client, a web application, a web server, and often multiple third-party web services, determining the cause of a particular status code can be a challenge under the best of circumstances.

This article will examine the 403 Forbidden Error in more detail. We’ll look at what causes this message, along with a handful of tips for diagnosing and debugging your own application. We’ll even examine a number of the most popular content management systems (CMSs) for potential problem areas that could cause your own website to be generating a 403 Forbidden Error. Let’s dive in!

Server- or Client-Side?

All HTTP response status codes in the 4xx category are considered client error responses. These messages contrast with errors in the 5xx category, such as the 502 Bad Gateway Error. 500 errors are considered server error responses.

That said, the appearance of a 4xx error doesn’t necessarily mean the issue has something to do with the client (the web browser or device used to access the application). Oftentimes, if you’re trying to diagnose an issue with your own application, you can ignore most client-side code and components. This includes HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), client-side JavaScript, etc. This doesn’t apply just to websites, either. Behind the scenes, normal web applications power smartphone apps that use a modern-looking user interface.

Although the 403 Forbidden Error is considered a client error response, you shouldn’t rule out the server as the culprit. The server network object is producing the 403 Error and returning it as the HTTP response code to the client. On the other hand, this doesn’t rule out the client as the actual cause of a 403 Forbidden Error, either. The client might be trying to access an invalid URL, the browser could be failing to send the proper credentials to the site, and so forth. We’ll explore some of these scenarios (and potential solutions) below.

Start With a Thorough Application Backup

Before making changes to your application, make sure to back up your system. This might include a full backup of your application, database, and so forth.

If you have the capability, create a complete copy of the application onto a secondary staging server that isn’t «live» or available to the public. This will allow you to test all potential fixes without threatening the security of your live application.

Diagnosing a 403 Forbidden Error

As previously mentioned, many 403 Forbidden Errors involve the server denying authorization to a client (a web browser, in most cases) that has requested content.

This typically occurs in one of two scenarios:

• The client sent its authentication credentials to the server and the server authenticated that the client was valid. Yet, the server rejected the authorized client from accessing the requested content for some reason.
• The requested content is strictly forbidden for all clients, regardless of authorization. This occurs when attempting to access an invalid or forbidden URL that the web server software has restricted. For example, Apache servers return a 403 Forbidden Error when a client tries to access a URL corresponding to a file system directory.

Troubleshooting on the Client-Side

Since the 403 Forbidden Error is a client error response code, start troubleshooting any potential client-side issues first.

Here are some troubleshooting tips you can try on the browser or device that is giving you problems.

Check the Requested URL

The most common cause of a 403 Forbidden Error is simply inputting an incorrect URL. As discussed before, many tightly secured web servers disallow access to improper URLs. This could be anything from accessing a file directory to accessing a private page meant for other users. Thus, it’s a good idea to double-check the exact URL that is returning the 403 error.

Clear Relevant Cookies

As you may already be aware, HTTP copies store tiny pieces of data on your local device. The website then uses these cookies to to «remember» information abbot a particular browser and/or device.

As you may already be aware, HTTP cookies store tiny pieces of data on your local device. The website then uses these cookies to «remember» information about a particular browser and/or device. Most modern web apps take advantage of these cookies to store user authentication status.

Invalid or corrupted Cookies can cause improper authentication for the server, leading to the 403 Error. This is due to the fact that the client is no longer authenticated to perform this particular request.

In most cases, you should only worry about cookies relevant to the website or application causing issues. The application stores cookies based on where the domain is located. This means you can only remove cookies that match the website domain (e.g. airbrake.io) to keep most other cookies intact. However, if you aren’t experienced with manually removing certain cookies, remove all cookies at once. Not only is this easier, but it’s also a safer option.

Below, we’ve provided a list on how to clear cookies depending on the browser you’re using:

• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari

Clear the Cache

Just like cookies, it’s also possible that the local browser cache could be causing the 403 Forbidden Error to appear.

A cache stores local copies of web content on your device for later use. A browser’s cache can include almost any type of data but typically stores compressed snapshots of webpages, images, and other binary data your browser often accesses. With a local copy of these resources on your device, your browser doesn’t need to spend time or bandwidth downloading this identical data every time you return to the same page. For example, when you open Facebook, there’s a good chance that the content you’re seeing has come from the cache on your device.

Since your browser’s cache stores local copies of web content and resources, it’s possible that a change to the live version of your application is conflicting with the cached version already on your device, which can sometimes produce a 403 Forbidden Error as a result. Try clearing your browser’s cache to see if that fixes the issue.

As with cookies, clearing the cache is browser-dependant, so here are a few links to that relevant documentation for the most popular browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari

Log Out and Log In

If the application you’re using has some form of user authentication, the last client-side step to try is to log out and then log back in. If you’ve recently cleared the browser cookies, this should usually log you out, so the next time you try to load the page, just log back in at this point.

In some situations, the application may be running into a problem with your previous session, which is just a string that the server sends to the client to identify that client during future requests. As with other data, your device should have stored the session token (or session string) locally on your device within the cookies. The client then transfers this data to the server during every request. If the server fails to recognize the session token or the server sees this particular token as invalid, this may result in a 403 Error.

But, with most web applications, you can recreate the local session token by logging out and logging back in.

Debugging Common Platforms

If you’re running common software packages on the server that is responding with the 403 Forbidden Error, you may want to start by looking into the stability and functionality of those platforms first. The most common content management systems (CMS) — like WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal — are all typically well-tested out of the box, but once you start making modifications to the underlying extensions or PHP code (the language in which nearly all modern content management systems are written in), it’s all too easy to cause an unforeseen issue that results in a 403 Error.

Here are a few tips to help you troubleshoot some of these popular software platforms:

Rollback Recent Upgrades

If you recently updated the CMS itself just before the 403 Forbidden Error appeared, you may want to consider rolling back to the previous version you had installed when things were working fine. Similarly, any extensions or modules that you may have recently upgraded can also cause server-side issues, so reverting to previous versions of those may also help.

For assistance with this task, simply Google «downgrade [PLATFORM_NAME]» and follow along. In some cases, however, certain CMSs don’t provide a version downgrade capability, which indicates that they consider the base application, along with each new version released, to be extremely stable and bug-free. This is typically the case for the more popular platforms.

Uninstall New Extensions, Modules, or Plugins

Depending on the particular CMS your application is using, the exact name of these components will be different, but they serve the same purpose across every system: improving the capabilities and features of the platform beyond what it’s normally capable of out of the box. Be warned: such extensions can, more or less, take full control of the system and make virtually any changes, whether it be to the PHP code, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or database. As such, try uninstalling any recently added extensions. Again, Google the extension name for the official documentation and assistance with this process.

Check for Unexpected Database Changes

Uninstalling a CMS extension does not guarantee that changes will fully revert. This is particularly true for WordPress extensions. These extensions have carte blanche status within an application, which allows them full access rights to the database. With this access, an extension can modify database records that don’t «belong» to the extension itself. That means it can change records created and managed by other extensions of the CMS itself.

In those scenarios, the extension may not know how to revert alterations to database records, so it will ignore such things during uninstallation. Diagnosing such problems can be tricky. Your best course of action, assuming you’re reasonably convinced an extension is the likely culprit for the 403 Forbidden Error, is to open the database and manually look through tables and records that were likely modified by the extension.

Confirm Proper File Permissions

If the application worked fine before and suddenly this error occurs, permissions are not a very likely culprit. However, if modifications were recently made (such as upgrades or installations), it’s possible that file permissions were changed or are otherwise incorrect, which could cause an issue to propagate its way throughout the application and eventually lead to a 403 Forbidden Error. The majority of servers use Unix-based operating systems.

In this Wikipedia article, File-System Permissions, you’ll learn more about how to set up proper permissions for application files and directories to keep your application secure without hindering your applications’ access.

Above all, Google is your friend. Search for specific terms related to your issue, such as the name of your application’s CMS, along with the 403 Forbidden Error. Chances are you’ll find someone (or, perhaps, many someones) who have experienced this issue and have found a solution.

Troubleshooting on the Server-Side

If you’re confident that your CMS isn’t the problem, a 403 Error could be a result of a server-side issue.

Troubleshoot the server with these tips.

Check Your Web Server Configuration

Most modern web servers provide one or more configuration files to adjust server behavior. These configurations are based on a wide range of circumstances. For example, the server may be configured to reject requests to certain directories or URLs, which could result in a 403 Error.

Configuration options for each different type of web server can vary dramatically. Here is a list of a few popular ones to give you some resources to look through:

• Apache
• Nginx
• IIS
• Node.js
• Apache Tomcat

Look Through the Logs

Nearly every web application will keep some form of server-side logs. Application logs contain the history of what the application did, such as which pages were requested, which servers it connected to, which database results it provided, and so forth. Server logs are related to the actual hardware that is running the application. They will often provide details about the health and status of all connected services, or even just the server itself. Google «logs [PLATFORM_NAME]» if you’re using a CMS, or «logs [PROGRAMMING_LANGUAGE]» and «logs [OPERATING_SYSTEM]» if you’re running a custom application, for more information on finding the logs in question.

Check the Database for User Authentication

As you know now, a 403 Error may indicate that the client properly authenticated at some point, but doesn’t have access to the requested resource. It’s worth checking the server to see why it denied the requested resource. Perhaps there’s an issue with the database and can’t authenticate the client.

Verify Server Connectivity

While it may sound simple, it’s entirely possible that a Forbidden Error simply indicates that a server somewhere in the chain is down or unreachable for whatever reason. Most modern applications don’t reside on a single server. Instead, applications may be spread over multiple servers or rely on third-party services to function. If any one of these servers are down for maintenance or otherwise inaccessible, this could result in an error that appears to be from your own application.

Debug Your Application Code or Scripts

If all else fails, manually debug your application by parsing through application and server logs. Ideally, make a copy of the entire application to a local development machine and perform a step-by-step debug process. This will allow you to recreate the exact scenario in which the 403 Forbidden Error occurred and view the application code at the moment something goes wrong.

But, for a faster way to debug, install Airbrake Error & Performance Monitoring. If there’s broken code that’s throwing a 403 Error, Airbrake will find it, and quickly. Create a free Airbrake dev account, today, and for the first 30-days, you’ll have access to unlimited error and performance events.

Note: We published this post in October 2017 and recently updated it in February 2022.

Ошибка 403 (error 403 Forbidden) — это ответ сервера, который отправляется, когда доступ к странице запрещен или ограничен по ряду причин. 

Текстовое описание ошибки может варьироваться. Вот некоторые вариации:

• 403 Forbidden.
• Access denied.
• «В доступе отказано».
• Forbidden.
• You don’t have permission to access.
• Запрещено 403. 

Перепутать ошибку с другими сложно, так как на странице обязательно будет указан код ошибки 403.

Как исправить ошибку 403

Почему возникает ошибка? Самый частый вариант — у пользователя недостаточно прав для просмотра страницы или контента на ней. Запрет с кодом 403 может установить администратор сети, администратор сервера, провайдер или разработчик.

Чаще всего причины появления ошибки связаны с проблемами на стороне сайта. Ниже отметим самые распространенные причины ошибки и расскажем, как исправить ситуацию.

Не успел обновиться кэш DNS серверов

Эта проблема часто возникает при переносе домена между разными регистраторами, а также при попытках перенести домен на разные аккаунты у одного регистратора. 

Решение: подождать. Обновление DNS записей, как правило, может занимать от 4 до 24 часов.

Ошибку вызывает плагин

Вспомните, какие плагины вы устанавливали в последнюю неделю. Если найти виновника таким образом не удается, можно начать отключать каждый плагин по отдельности, поочередно проверяя доступность проблемной страницы.

Решение: найти проблемное расширение и отключить его.

Доступ к сайтам ограничен для пользователей из определенного местоположения

Одна из самых актуальных причин ошибки 403 в последние месяцы у россиян. Дело в том, что многие английские, украинские и европейские сайты начали блокировать доступ по географическому признаку. В итоге при попытке открыть любую страницу такого сайта вы увидите ошибку.

Решение: воспользоваться VPN-сервисом. 

Некорректный файл индекса сайта

Одна из самых частых причин ошибки на всех страницах сайта. Суть в том, что индексный файл располагается в некорректной директории, вовсе отсутствует или имеет неправильный формат. 

Решение: проверить индексный файл своего сайта. Для этого откройте файловый менеджер используемого хостинга и найдите файл со словом index. 

Если вы пользуетесь услугами REG.RU, там также есть встроенный файловый менеджер. Чтобы получить к нему доступ, выполните следующие действия:

1. В левом навигационном меню выберите пункт «Сайты».
2. Выберите проблемный домен.
3. Кликните по кнопке «Менеджер файлов» (в новой версии «Файлы сайта»).
4. Найдите индексный файл в корневой директории сайта.

Обязательно проверьте необходимый формат индексного файла: далеко не всегда он должен иметь расширение .HTML.

В зависимости от используемой системы управления контентом и конфигурации сайта индексный формат файла может отличаться: возможные варианты расширения — HTML, PHP, HTM.

В разных панелях управления проверка индексного файла происходит по-разному. Посмотрим, как проверить индексный файл в ISPmanager — однойиз самых популярных панелей управления сегодня.

1. В навигационном меню слева нажимаем кнопку «Сайты».
2. Выбираем проблемный домен, нажимаем кнопку «Изменить».
3. В самом низу находим строку «Индексная страница»:

Приостановлено обслуживание сайта на конкретном хостинге

Если вебмастер вовремя не оплатил услуги хостинга, возможно появление ошибки 403 при открытии любых страниц сайта. Сайт так и останется недоступным, пока не будет погашен долг в соответствии с договором обслуживания.

Решение: оплатить услуги хостинга.

Некорректное месторасположение файлов сайта

Частая проблема, возникающая при ручном переносе файлов сайта. Здесь правило простое: файлы сайта располагаются в корневой директории.

Решение: убедиться, что папка с файлами сайта находится в правильной папке. Корневая папка сайта по управлением WordPress на хостинге Beget может выглядеть так:

Указаны некорректные права на файл или папку 

Существует три вида прав доступа к файлам: чтение, редактирование, выполнение. В свою очередь, всех пользователей также можно разделить на три категории: администраторы, модераторы и обычные пользователи. 

Для задания самих прав используются трехзначные коды:

• Для папок — код 755 или код 750;
• Для файлов — код 644 или код 640.

Вы можете установить любой из этих вариантов.

У разных CMS могут быть свои коды для указания прав папок и файлов. Например, в WordPress на системный файл wp-config.php должны быть настроены права с кодом 440 (или с кодом 400).

Решение: проанализировать права всех папок и изменить их при необходимости. Проверьте, какие файлы и папки загружаются при открытии страницы с 403-м ответом. Чтобы уточнить этот момент, вы можете обратиться в техподдержку хостинга.  

Некорректные указания в конфигурационном файле htaccess

.htaccess — это файл конфигурации для использования на веб-серверах с программным обеспечением Apache Web Server. Когда .htaccess помещается в каталог (который, в свою очередь, загружается через веб-сервер Apache), он обнаруживается и выполняется программным обеспечением веб-сервера Apache.

Рассмотрим пример директивы, которая запрещает доступ к сайту всем пользователям, кроме одного IP-адреса:

С такой директивой сайт будет недоступен для пользователей, так как просмотр разрешен только с одного IP-адреса.

Решение: найти файл .htaccess в папке сайта и проанализировать команды, которые были прописаны недавно.

Прежде чем редактировать файл, обязательно сделайте его резервную копию. Указанное ниже решение актуально только для хостингов на базе Linux.

Особое внимание обратите на команды со словами deny, redirect, require: 

Удалите все соответствующие строки (со словами deny, redirect, require) и сохраните файл. Отключите кэширование данных на сайте и проверьте доступность страницы, которая отдавала 403-й код. Если все работает, значит причина была именно в .htaccess. Снова включите кэширование данных. 

Если страница все равно не открывается, измените название файла htaccess на old_htaccess. Убедитесь, что кэширование данных на сайте отключено и снова откройте проблемную страницу. Если страница по-прежнему отдает код 403, дело точно не в htaccess и проверять нужно другие причины, которые мы описали выше.

Если ни один из вышеуказанных способов так и не помог оживить страницу, очистите кэш и удалите cookies-файлы в используемом браузере.

Иные причины 403 ошибки

• Работодатель ограничивает доступ ко всем публичным сайтам, кроме тех, которые нужны для работы.
• Доступ к сайту временно ограничен вебмастером по определенному признаку, например, по используемому браузеру.
• Допущена опечатка в URL страницы (при ручном вводе).
• Пользователь пытается открыть страницу сайта, предназначенную для служебного использования.
• Пользователь пытается открыть страницу сайта, предназначенную для использования только зарегистрированными пользователями.
• Пользователь был заблокирован по какому-либо параметру, например по IP-адресу (за нарушение правил пользования сайтом).
• Доступ к сайту временно приостановлен для всех пользователей, так как проводится его техническое обслуживание.

Резюме

Используйте чек-лист, который поможет исправить ошибку 403 вебмастеру и пользователю.

Вебмастеру

1. Убедитесь, что указан корректный адрес страницы.
2. Проверьте директивы в системном файле htaccess.
3. Убедитесь, что все файлы сайта находятся в корневом каталоге.
4. Проверьте наличие всех необходимых файлов, которые загружаются при обращении к проблемной странице.
5. Свяжитесь с хостингом и уточните, имеются ли какие-либо ограничения, наложенные на ваш сайт или домен.
6. Убедитесь, что выставлены корректные права доступа на папки и файлы.

Обязательно проверить логи сервера. Если 403 ответ в них упоминается, вы сможете узнать точную причину появления этой ошибки. Если же такой ошибки в логах нет, причину следует искать в скриптах, которые используются на сайте.

Пользователю

У пользователя возможности исправить ошибку гораздо меньше, так как причина, чаще всего, находится не на его стороне. Что вы можете сделать:

1. Дважды проверьте URL, если указываете его вручную.
2. Пройдите авторизацию, если такая возможность предусмотрена конфигурацией сайта.
3. Свяжитесь с администратором сайта и сообщите об ошибке.
4. Попробуйте открыть ссылку спустя 2-3 дня. Во многих случаях ошибка носит временный характер.  

Часто адрес страницы меняется дважды после публикации и поисковые системы просто не успевают обработать новую версию адреса. Следует подождать хотя бы один день. Страница с некорректным URL покинет индекс, исчезнет из результатов поиска, а на ее место придет страница с правильным адресом.