---
title: "502 Bad Gateway"
description: "Most often, you might see a \"502 bad gateway\" error in one of our WordPress hosting plans, because these plans use Apache web servers with Nginx as a proxy server. Read on to find out how proxy..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/error-numbers/502-bad-gateway/
date: 2020-11-13
modified: 2020-11-13
author: "Christopher Maiorana"
categories: ["Website Error Numbers"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# 502 Bad Gateway

![502 bad gateway, trouble viewing website.](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/502_Bad_Gateway-1024x538.png)

Most often, you might see a “502 bad gateway” error in one of our
[WordPress hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/wordpress-hosting) plans, because these plans use Apache web servers
with Nginx as a proxy server. Read on to find out how proxy servers
work.

- [How to Fix the 502 Bad Gateway Error](#fix)
  - [Refresh Your Page](#org900951c)
  - [Clear Your Browser Cache](#org2d3fb46)
  - [Checking Other Browsers and Users](#orgcc592c9)
  - [Contact Hosting Support](#org417b7ea)
- [Some Background Information on Proxy Server Issues](#background-info-proxy-servers)

For sysadmins interested in speed and performance, our
[cloud server hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/cloud-vps) is
the ideal solution for you.

## How to Fix the 502 Bad Gateway Error

There are many different ways to troubleshoot this error that range
from easy to more difficult.

Below you’ll find first the easiest and quickest troubleshooting
methods, and then down to the more advanced.

### Refresh Your Page

Most easily, it’s quite likely that the 502 error is temporary.
Wait a moment and refresh your page to see if the issue clears.
Sometimes a random glitch might trigger the error. **In this case,
the error will clear on its own**.

### Clear Your Browser Cache

Often, your browser might cache an error page, in which case the
error might be clear but you will still see it.

In this case, make sure to [clear your browser cache](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/how-to-clear-browser-cache-for-major-browsers/) and try the
page refresh again.

### Checking Other Browsers and Users

As part of your browser troubleshooting, if you are not seeingr
results, you should check with other people on different networks
to see if they see the site.

### Contact Hosting Support

If you have determined, through normal troubleshooting, that there
is any issue that will require more advanced procedures to fix,
don’t hesitate to reach out to [live support](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/amp/how-to-get-great-technical-support/) anytime.

## Some Background Information on Proxy Server Issues

Proxy servers function by sharing information with each other. For
example, in our WordPress hosting plans, we use Apache to generate
the website. However, Nginx offers other tantalizing benefits for
your speeding up your site with caching. So we use Nginx as a
reverse proxy for Apache.

This means, in effect, that the single server is using two different
web server programs. Sometimes, information being processed and
sent back and forth might get garbled or glitch out. In this case,
Apache or Nginx might cause the 502 error.