How To Fix HTTP Error 431

Aug 16, 2023

How To Fix HTTP Error 431

Did you just try to visit a website only to be met by the HTTP error 431 message? This video is for you 👀
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HTTP status codes like the 431 error can be frustrating because they get in the way of the website that you want to interact with. Thankfully, though, the error code provides you with the information that you need to fix it in the form of those three numbers – 431.

In this video, you’ll learn what this specific error means and what some of the common causes are. Then, we’ll share four troubleshooting steps that you can follow to fix the problem, whether you’re experiencing it on someone else’s website or your own website.

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🕘Timestamps

0:00 Intro
1:04 What Is HTTP Error 431?
2:30 What Causes a 431 Request Header Fields Too Large Error?
4:08 Clear Your Cookies and Browser Cache
6:36 Shorten or Remove URL Query Parameters
7:15 Shorten/Edit Your Code
8:34 Adjust Cookie Settings

📚 Resources

⚒️ How To Fix HTTP Error 431 Request Header Fields Too Large
► https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/http…

#HTTP431 #HTTPerror

Content

0.15 -> Hey guys, it's Alisha.

1.68 -> And today, I'm gonna show you how to fix HTTP error 431.

6.4 -> (upbeat music)

12.66 -> HTTP status codes like the 431 error can be frustrating

16.921 -> because they get in the way of the website

19.14 -> that you wanna interact with

20.64 -> or it's getting in the way

22.23 -> of your customers visiting your site.

24.99 -> Thankfully, the error code provides you

26.85 -> with the information that you need

28.35 -> to fix it in the form of those three numbers:

31.14 -> 4, 3, 1.

32.34 -> In this video, you'll learn what this specific error means

35.88 -> and what some of the common causes are.

38.58 -> Then, we'll share four troubleshooting steps

41.01 -> that you can follow to fix the problem,

43.05 -> whether you're experiencing it on someone else's website

45.75 -> or your own website.

47.16 -> Before we get too far,

48.72 -> I wanna let you know that there will be links

50.7 -> to more resources in the video's description.

53.1 -> And remember,

53.94 -> subscribe and ring that bell

55.74 -> to get notifications for future helpful content.

58.74 -> Now, what is the HTTP error 431?

67.77 -> Before we can talk about the HTTP error 431 specifically,

72.09 -> we first need to talk about what HTTP is

75.36 -> and where these errors come from.

77.16 -> There are tons of different status codes.

79.38 -> Some HTTP status codes indicate

81.96 -> that everything is functioning normally.

84.63 -> However, many HTTP status codes

87.33 -> indicate some type of error.

89.73 -> As you can probably guess,

91.02 -> the HTTP 431 message is one of the error codes.

95.4 -> The number 431 indicates the specific HTTP error

99.72 -> which is Request Header Fields Too Large.

103.11 -> Essentially, this means that the HTTP request

105.878 -> that your browser is making to the server is too large,

110.1 -> or another way of phrasing it

112.11 -> is that the request is too long.

115.62 -> This can happen because the total size

117.66 -> of the request headers is too large

119.91 -> or it can happen because a single header field is too large.

123.39 -> Because your browser is making a request

125.37 -> that is too large or long,

127.32 -> the server drops,

128.46 -> denies the request

129.749 -> instead of delivering the HTTP response

132.78 -> that your browser was expecting.

135.57 -> Because your browser doesn't receive the needed response,

138.57 -> it's unable to render the website

140.82 -> and shows the HTTP error 431 message instead.

149.836 -> In general, HTTP error codes can indicate a problem

153.75 -> in two different areas.

155.31 -> On the server side,

156.69 -> there's something going wrong in the web server

158.94 -> that's triggering the error code.

161.4 -> On the client side,

162.96 -> there's something going wrong in the web browser

165.27 -> that's triggering the error.

166.68 -> The HTTP error 431 is a client side HTTP error.

171.63 -> That means the cause of the problem

173.34 -> is somewhere in your web browser

175.5 -> because your web browser is the one making the request

178.32 -> with large headers.

180.15 -> That also means that you'll need to apply most fixes

182.88 -> by adjusting your web browser.

184.41 -> However, the root cause isn't always your browser's fault.

188.82 -> Sometimes the way the website is coded

191.19 -> can cause your browser to make large requests.

193.56 -> Typically, the HTTP error 431

196.08 -> is caused by issues with cookies,

198.3 -> long referral URLs,

200.22 -> or just the total size of the request headers.

202.74 -> If you're trying to visit someone else's website,

204.96 -> you can try to eliminate these causes

206.73 -> by adjusting your web browser.

208.74 -> If you have your own website,

210.36 -> and you're trying to diagnose

211.86 -> why your site's visitors are seeing the HTTP error 431,

215.91 -> you might need to dig into your site's code

218.04 -> to make it less likely to cause your sites visitors

220.8 -> to have large requests.

222.69 -> For example, you might need to adjust

224.94 -> how your site uses cookies in visitors' browsers

227.67 -> or configure your server to accept larger requests.

236.144 -> Now that you know what the HTTP error 431

239.34 -> Request Header Fields Too Large message means

242.43 -> and some of its causes,

244.41 -> let's get into how you can fix this error.

246.69 -> Pretty much all websites use cookies

248.82 -> to identify and store information about individual users.

252.54 -> For example, if you log into a website,

255.06 -> that website will use a cookie

256.65 -> to remember that you're logged in,

258.36 -> so that you don't need to log in again,

260.52 -> every single time you visit.

261.78 -> To learn more about cookies,

263.31 -> check out our guide to cookies and PHP sessions.

266.07 -> However, if there are too many cookies,

268.83 -> that can lead to large HTTP request headers,

271.65 -> which can trigger the HTTP error 431

274.56 -> Request Header Fields Too Large message.

276.69 -> One common fix, therefore,

278.4 -> is to clear the cookies for the site

280.929 -> where you're experiencing the issues.

284.07 -> Most popular browsers make this pretty easy to do.

286.98 -> Remember: if you clear your cookies,

289.17 -> you will be logged out of every website

291.63 -> for which you clear cookies.

293.67 -> If you clear all your browsers cookies

295.77 -> that means you'll be logged out of every single website.

298.65 -> For that reason,

299.82 -> we recommend starting with the targeted approach

302.7 -> of only clearing cookies for the specific site

305.91 -> where you're experiencing the problems.

308.28 -> If that doesn't work,

309.39 -> then you can try fully clearing your browser's cookies.

311.82 -> Here's how to clear browser cookies in Chrome.

314.28 -> Enter the following in your browser address bar.

318.42 -> Search for the URL of the site

320.52 -> where your experiencing issues.

323.19 -> Then click the trashcan icon to delete all of the cookies

326.64 -> and site data for that site.

328.26 -> This basic method should also work

330.179 -> for other Chromium-based web browsers,

332.73 -> such as Brave, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, and others.

337.59 -> However, you'll need to go through the settings area

340.2 -> rather than pasting in the URL.

342.9 -> To clear cookies for a specific site in Safari,

345.66 -> follow these instructions.

347.34 -> Open the preferences area.

350.19 -> Select the privacy tab.

352.62 -> Click manage website data.

355.68 -> Search for and select the site

357.469 -> where you're experiencing issues.

360.096 -> And click the remove button

362.67 -> once you've selected the site.

364.53 -> To clear cookies for a specific site in Firefox,

368.04 -> follow these instructions.

369.51 -> Enter the following in your Firefox browser address bar.

374.07 -> Scroll down and find the cookies and site data section.

378.84 -> Click the manage data button in that section.

382.95 -> Search for and select the site

385.14 -> where you're experiencing issues.

387.48 -> Then click the remove selected button

390.27 -> once you've selected the site.

391.89 -> Trying to visit a site using URLs

394.32 -> with long query parameters

396.27 -> can also trigger the HTTP error 431.

400.08 -> Query parameters are the part of a URL

402.3 -> that comes after the main URL.

405.18 -> They're used to pass additional information to the server

408 -> but they aren't actually required to access the page

410.7 -> in most cases.

412.26 -> For example, many sites use UTM parameters

415.155 -> to track conversions.

416.657 -> Here's an example of a base URL

420.66 -> with some additional query parameters.

422.88 -> To see if this is the problem,

424.35 -> delete the question mark

425.88 -> and everything that comes after it.

428.13 -> Then, try revisiting the newly cleaned URL,

431.31 -> and see if the error disappears.

433.02 -> These next two tips won't help

434.788 -> if you're experiencing the error on someone else's website,

438.66 -> but if you're experiencing the error on your own site,

441.57 -> or if your visitors are complaining

443.37 -> of experiencing the error,

445.08 -> then these tips can help address the root cause.

447.24 -> The first option is to dig into your site's code,

450 -> and check if your code is generating large request headers,

454.35 -> that is, whether your code is forcing visitors' browsers

457.53 -> to send large requests.

459.3 -> These errors are specifically common

461.22 -> when working with JavaScript.

463.05 -> If you check out Stack Overflow,

465.15 -> you'll see that most of the people experiencing this error

467.94 -> are using technologies,

469.26 -> such as AngularJS, React, Node.js, and more.

474.6 -> For example, your Node.js app

476.76 -> could be asking for more information than is needed,

480.03 -> which is generating unnecessarily large request headers.

483.15 -> Similarly, remember that spaces in your code

486.18 -> count toward the size of the request,

488.536 -> so that can be another invisible source of large requests.

492.72 -> In some cases, you can also adjust the maximum request size

496.56 -> at the server level

497.73 -> by editing your service configuration code.

500.7 -> For example, if you're using React,

502.812 -> you can adjust the max header size

505.26 -> in the package.json file.

507.69 -> Look for this line of code.

508.92 -> Another way that your site could trigger the HTTP error 431

512.88 -> is the way in which it's using cookies.

516.42 -> For example, if you're setting lots of cookies

519.24 -> in users browsers

520.266 -> that could trigger the error.

522.87 -> This is one of the reasons why clearing a site's cookies

525.45 -> is one of the potential fixes.

527.07 -> To avoid this,

528.24 -> make sure that you're not setting too many cookies

530.73 -> by accident.

532.05 -> This will require digging into your site's code

535.02 -> or hiring an expert with the qualifications to do so.

539.79 -> Kinsta's WordPress hosting can speed up your website

542.67 -> by up to 200%,

544.8 -> and you'll get 24/7 support

546.75 -> from our expert WordPress engineers.

549.315 -> We offer two months free with any annual plan,

552.354 -> a 30 day money-back guarantee,

554.55 -> and unlimited free basic migrations from any host.

559.05 -> Head over to kinsta.com/plans to get started.

563.73 -> Thank you for watching.

565.11 -> If you found this video helpful,

566.58 -> please don't forget to like, subscribe,

569.43 -> and hit the notification bell

570.84 -> for more tutorials, explainers,

573.03 -> and helpful content like this.

574.867 -> (upbeat music)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABvstLw7efA