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How to Fix 502 Bad Gateway Error on BigCommerce

Last updated: October 01, 2024
Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

It is inevitable that you might run into several website problems while running your online business. This includes 502 errors, 404 errors, or broken servers - these all mean that your customers failed to connect with your site. The same thing also happens with the BigCommerce platform, and we are going to help you narrow down the possibility of them.

Today, the article is introducing BigCommerce 502 bad gateway issues - one of the website problems, reasons causing it, and most importantly How to fix BigCommerce 502 bad gateway errors. If you are dealing with the same matter or simply just wish to avoid it in the future to bring back the best customer experience, keep reading to find out more!

What is BigCommerce 502 bad gateway?

A BigCommerce 502 error indicates that the server’s connectivity with the website is broken. Because the problem is not specific to a certain website, it cannot say with certainty that the website has a problem. This may result in an error web page being shown to your visitors, such as the picture below:

BigCommerce 502 bad gateway

Besides appearing as 502 error, sometimes it might be under these status codes:

  • Error 502
  • HTTP 502
  • 502 service temporarily overloaded
  • 502 bad gateway NGINX

Therefore, if you have bumped into one of the mentioned website issues, they are all considered as 502 bad gateway errors.

Why do you keep seeing BigCommerce 502 bad gateway?

Fortunately, there are several possible reasons explaining the appearance of BigCommerce 502 bad gateway errors on your websites, and here is the list of them:

  • Broken server: it is either due to a crash or ordinary maintenance, however this does and has occurred.
  • Changes in DNS: domain movement may cause changes in the Domain Name System (DNS), which then results in hours of waiting for it to activate completely.
  • Firewall problem: Firewalls are born with the aim to prevent servers from exchanging data with one other. But sometimes, it may misidentify “safe” material as “malicious” and hence stop that safe stuff from performing any further actions.
  • The origin server: sometimes, too many visitors or a problem in connection will make your server down for a few minutes or hours.

Due to one of these reasons, your website may appear as a BigCommerce 502 bad gateway when your consumers try to visit. So how can we fix them? Let’s take a look at the next section.

How to fix 502 bad gateway errors on BigCommerce?

In total, there are up to 8 different methods for you to solve these BigCommerce 502 bad gateway errors. Follow the steps below to make them go away in the shortest time possible:

Step 1: Check status.bigcommerce.com

BigCommerce status check website

The status page is always illustrated in real-time and provides the latest news on any development or problem updates. Store owners must make sure that their technical and engineering operations teams are aware of the problem and are diligently working to fix it. And status.bigcommerce.com is the website where you can keep an eye on all possible issues that might happen to your online store.

Step 2: Reload the website

When encountering a page problem, it is advisable to do a full page refresh. According to 404- and 502-problems.com, in many cases 404 and BigCommerce 502 bad gateway errors are just transient and are rectified as soon as they are encountered.

Step 3: Close all tabs and start over

Network difficulties or too many opened tabs at the same time during your browser session may have caused the 502 error you received. Even if you don’t realize it, this may happen to you. Close all tabs, or turn off your current browser and start over; everything should work well.

Step 4: Delete cookies or cache history

Clear your cookies or cache

If restarting the browser does not fix the problem, your browser’s cache files may be outdated or damaged. Online merchants can fix the BigCommerce 502 bad gateway errors by getting rid of their cache or cookie files and returning to the page.

Step 5: Use another web browser app

Several popular web browsers

Up to this point, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox are considered one of the most common web browsers across the globe. You will know that your main browser is causing the problem if no alternate browser produces the 502 error. Your cache and cookies may have already been cleaned, thus it is time to reinstall the browser. For instance, using a mobile device that is not linked to your network, try viewing the website.

Step 6: Restart your device

Restart your device

This might be the easiest way out of the list. Your machine may have connectivity troubles if you encounter this 502 error message on many websites. It may benefit from restarting your computer.

Step 7: Restart your network

If you keep seeing BigCommerce 502 bad gateway errors, your network equipment tends to be at fault (e.g modem, router). Restarting both your network from the outside and working your way in (e.g modem, then router, then computer) may help.

Step 8: Reach out to your ISP

Even if you’ve done everything you can to diagnose the 502 errors, your ISP might be to blame. All you have to do is look up your Internet service provider (ISP) to resolve any related issues.

If every step has been taken into account, but somehow your BigCommerce 502 bad gateway problems have not been solved, please contact the BigCommerce Support Team to seek their help in the quickest way possible.

Final thought

To sum up, understanding what causes your BigCommerce 502 bad gateway problems and How to fix them will definitely help your customers to have a better shopping experience at your store in the future. We hope that this article has succeeded in decreasing the number of BigCommerce 502 bad gateway that your website might run into.


Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.

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