While there are a number of reasons this might happen, often times the URL is simply incorrect. If there’s a problem with a URL, these easy-to-follow steps will help you find it: Time Required: Closely inspecting the URL you’re working with shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

How to Troubleshoot an Error in a URL

For example, most web pages have specific names like bakedapplerecipe.html or man-saves-life-on-hwy-10.aspx, etc Here’s an example of a properly formatted URL: For example, there’s a world of difference in .html and .htm. They aren’t interchangeable because the first points to a file that ends in .HTML while the other is to a file with the .HTM suffix—they’re entirely different files, and it’s unlikely that they both exist as duplicates on the same web server. For example, this will get you to a valid page: But this won’t: For example, often times a long URL in an email message will span two or more lines but only the first line will be copied correctly, resulting in a too-short URL in the clipboard. In some cases, a URL will end with either a file extension (like html, htm, etc.) or a single forward slash. For example, if you start typing youtube in your browser because you want to search Google for YouTube’s website, it may suggest a video you’ve recently watched. It will do this by automatically loading that URL into the address bar. So, if you press enter after “youtube”, that video will load instead of starting a web search for the word you typed. You can avoid this by editing the URL in the address bar to take you to the home page. Sometimes, using the Backspace key will halt the autocomplete wherever you stopped typing. Or, you can clear out the search bar history or the browser’s entire history so that it will forget which pages you’ve already visited.