How to Fix the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed Error

HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error mainly occurs when the web server’s configuration prohibits performing certain actions for a specific URL. This is also considered an HTTP response status code, indicating that the server knows the request method, but the target resources do not support it. Therefore, it is a client-side error.

In other words, the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error is simply the situation where the web browser requests for accessing any web page and your web server also recognizes it, but it rejects the used HTTP method. Thus, the browser cannot access the requested web page, causing the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error.

Particularly, three scenarios might lead to the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error, which is as follows:

1. The HTTP method is banned because of misconfigured web servers of any software components which were supposed to perform the given actions for the desired URL resource.
2. The website operator bans the HTTP method for security reasons. The error exists in the URL resource of the website, causing the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error.
3. The website operator’s hosting provider does not allow the HTTP method. This mainly occurs with the POST method required to enter data, and it gets blocked by the providers for some security concerns, causing the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error.

Fixing the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error:

You won’t be able to fix a 405 Method Not Allowed error message on your own if you run across one on a web project. While tactics like refreshing the page, rebooting the router, or verifying the proxy settings can usually cure problems with other HTTP errors, they are futile against the 405 error.

In this scenario, it’s good to contact the website’s operator or administrator to report the problem or get more information about the root causes.

If you are the website owner that is displaying the 405 HTTP code to visitors, the situation is different. You have numerous choices for resolving the problem, depending on the cause of the error message. However, you should fix the problem as soon as possible to avoid enraging your users and being penalized by search engines.

Here are the seven best fixes for the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error.

7 ways to fix HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error

Fix 1: Check whether the provided URL is correct or not.

The most common cause of a 405 Method Not Allowed error is entering the incorrect URL, which may sound overly straightforward. However, most web servers are extensively guarded and designed to deny access to inappropriate URLs to prevent users from visiting the wrong pages (or trying to reach pages that don’t exist).

Before proceeding any further, double-check that you’ve provided the correct URL for the website you want to visit. Making mistakes, such as omitting a letter or misspelling a word, is easier than you would believe. It’s also possible that simply refreshing the page will cause it to load correctly.

However, if the error cause is something else, the below-mentioned measures will help you resolve the same.

Fix 2: Check the codes of the website to find the bugs.

If your website’s code contains an error, your web server may be unable to respond to requests from a content delivery network correctly. Look for flaws in your code or copy it to a development machine. It’ll go through a complete debugging process, simulating the exact circumstances where your 405 Method Not Allowed Error happened and allowing you to identify where things went wrong.

This will hopefully resolve the error. However, if it does not, then follow the measures provided below.

Fix 3: Check over your server-side logs.

Application logs and server logs are the two sorts of server-side logs. Application logs keep track of your website’s whole history, including which web pages users requested and which servers it was linked to.

Server logs give details about the hardware that powers your server, including its health and status. Examine both sorts of server-side logs for any potentially dangerous information about your server or website.

Fix 4: Cross-check the database changes.

Even if you uninstall an extension, the changes it made to your system may not be completely reversed.

Some extensions, particularly those for the WordPress CMS, have complete control over the program, including full database access. An extension can change database records produced and handled by other extensions rather than the extension itself.

When this happens, the extension may not know how to undo database record changes, causing the extension to ignore them after uninstallation.

In this case, the best course of action is to open the database and manually search for tables and records that may have been tampered with by the extension. Check for the other measures provided below if this does not resolve the HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error.

Fix 5: Checking the files’ configuration for the webserver to fix HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed error.

If double-checking database updates didn’t work, look for inadvertent redirect instructions in your web server software’s configuration files.

Your application is served by one of two web servers: Apache or Nginx.

If you’re using Apache, make sure the Apache server configuration file and the .htaccess file are correct.

Step 1: After you’ve found the .htaccess file, open it in a text editor and look for RewriteXXX directives.

Step 2: If you come across any unusual RewriteCond or RewriteRule directives, use the # character prefix to comment them out temporarily.

Check to see if the problem has been fixed by restarting your web server.

If you’re using nginx, make sure the nginx.conf file is correct. /usr/local/nginx/conf, /etc/nginx, or /usr/local/etc/nginx are all popular locations for this file.

Step 1: After you’ve found the file, open it in a text editor and look for directives with the 405 response code flag.

Step 2: Any irregularities should be commented out, and the server should be restarted to determine if the problem has been rectified.

Fix 6: Uninstall newer extensions and modules or disable new plugins.

Extensions and plugins might improve the functionality of your website, but they can also cause serious harm.

Some extensions have complete control over your system and can modify any code, including PHP, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and your database. In this scenario, uninstalling any new extensions you’ve recently added to your system is recommended.

Here are the steps which you must follow to check whether any plugin causes the error:

Step 1: Use FTP to connect to your server. Login to the server and go to the WordPress root folder. It is commonly referred to as ‘www’ or ‘public_HTML.’ The files with names like ‘wp-content or ‘wp-admin’ are found in the root.

Step 2: After that, go to ‘wp-content and rename the ‘plugins’ folder to whatever you like.

Step 3: Return to the site to see if the problem still exists. If not, the error could have been caused by any plugin. Return to the FTP account and rename the folder “plugins” once more.

Step 4: Now go into the folder and alter the names of the individual folders one by one, checking the website each time to determine which one is causing the “HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed” problem.

Step 5: Either remove the error-causing plugin or look for its documentation online.

Fix 7: Manually debugging the application scripts or code.

If none of the suggestions above worked, it’s time to investigate whether the error is caused by a flaw in some custom code within your program.

Manually debugging your application and parsing your application and server logs can help you figure out what’s wrong.

Make a clone of the application and debug it step by step on a local development machine. Then, when something goes wrong, you’ll be able to replicate the exact scenario that caused the 405 Method Not Allowed error and inspect the application code.

Conclusion

There are various causes that lead to several errors when accessing a website, and 405 Method Not Allowed error is one of those. However, this is not at all a problematic situation as after following the above mentioned measures you can easily resolve it in no time.