HTTP 410 Gone

Permanently removed resources and intentional deletion

What the 410 Status Code Means

The HTTP 410 Gone status code indicates that the requested resource is no longer available on the server and that this condition is expected to be permanent.

Unlike a 404 Not Found response, which simply indicates that the server cannot locate the resource, a 410 Gone response explicitly signals that the resource previously existed but has been intentionally removed and will not return.

When Servers Use HTTP 410

Servers return a 410 response when administrators or applications want to communicate that a resource has been permanently removed and should no longer be requested by clients.

410 vs 404 Not Found

The difference between 404 and 410 is subtle but important.

Search engines treat these responses differently. A 410 response typically causes search engines to remove the resource from their index more quickly than a standard 404 error.

Example of a 410 Response

HTTP/1.1 410 Gone
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Length: 512

Web applications may use custom 410 pages to inform users that the resource has been permanently removed and will not be restored.

SEO and Content Removal

The 410 Gone status code is commonly used when permanently removing pages that should disappear from search engine indexes.

Compared to returning a 404 response, using a 410 response clearly signals to search engines that the resource should no longer be indexed or crawled.

How Developers Diagnose 410 Errors

Related HTTP Status Codes

Summary

The HTTP 410 Gone status code indicates that a resource has been permanently removed from the server and will not return.

Unlike a 404 error, which may represent a temporary condition, a 410 response clearly communicates that the resource was intentionally removed and should no longer be requested by clients.