Why am I getting an HTTP 403 status code and how do I fix it? or HTTP 403 status code error – what’s

Man, the http 403 status code is the worst. Had this happen on my WordPress site last week. Turned out the file permissions were set to 644 instead of 755 for some folders.

Used FileZilla to check and fix it. Also, if you're on shared hosting, sometimes mod_security rules block legit traffic. Hosting support had to whitelist my IP.

Pro tip: Screenshot the error and check browser console (F12) for more clues.