WebJunction

Tips on how to troubleshoot your Web search

Despite its ability to serve up fast, accurate information, there are times when you will bat zero on the Internet. You may type in a wrong Web address, be referred to a site that you are not looking for, or be hit with a variety of indecipherable error messages. Here are some tips for troubleshooting Web addresses and Web searches, which will help to get you to the site you're looking for.

Check spelling and punctuation

Spelling errors are very common. Each slash, dash, and dot matters in a Web address.

If you type a Web address into the Address box of your Web browser and a message appears stating that the page cannot be found, check the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation of the Web address. (Remember, however, the address could have appeared incorrectly in your source.)

Capitalization

Many search engines recognize whether search terms are uppercase or lowercase. Usually, if a word is lowercase, search engines search for all variations. For example, if you search for the term "hotel," the search engine will match "Hotel," "HOTEL," and "hotel," but if you search for the term "Hotel," the search engine will not return sites with the terms "hotel" or "HOTEL."

For more information, see the article, Search Engines and Capitalization at:

http://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/capitalization.html.

Try again

If you receive the message, “Server error” or “Server is busy,” try clicking the Refresh button or pressing Enter. You may have encountered traffic on the Internet through no fault of your own. Think of these error messages like you would a busy signal on the telephone, and try again later.

Which tool to use?

Not finding what you're looking for? Search directories and search engines have their niches, and you need to match your search with the right search tool. Subject directories are great for more common items, but if you need highly unusual or specialized information, the larger search engines might be a better choice. Try your search on another search engine or a metasearch engine.

Terminology

Still not finding anything? Maybe your search is too narrow. Try removing specific terms, or remove any quotes around a phrase. Try variations on your search terms --synonyms, or more general, or more specific terms.

Troubleshooting Web addresses

Are you getting an error stating that a page can't be found? Often, a file has been moved or renamed. You can try to locate the file by working up the URL from the end toward the beginning. Below are some typical problems and the techniques used to solve them.

Problem: If you follow a link and get an error such as:

• File not Found
• 404
• Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site...

Solution: The search engine or directory may be out of date. The address (URL) for the Web site in question may have changed, or the site could be permanently gone.

Problem: If the URL in question is long:

e.g. http://www.cnn.com/monday/morning/eight/story.html

Solution: You might want to try deleting everything in the address after the first single slash. (For the example above, you would delete everything except http://www.cnn.com/.) The shortened URL will take you to the main home page for the Web server.

Problem: If you have entered the URL directly in the browser and you get an error:

Solution: Check your spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Remember Web page authors may get these things wrong too, and that's another reason for broken links.

Problem: If you get an error message such as:

"A connection with the server could not be established, Operation timed out"

Solution: Treat this like a busy signal (or, in worse cases, a power outage) and try again later. The problem is probably with the computer on the other end.