[Solved] http response code indicates tag failed to fire: status 404. this could be due to an empty or un-published container

So you’ve added a Google Tag Manager snippet to a website (by carefully following the instructions), then open Google Tag Assistant, click on your GTM container ID and see the following error:

http response code indicates tag failed to fire: status 404. this could be due to an empty or un-published container

What is it and how to fix it? I’ll show you in this quick guide.

The solution to this problem

The problem lies within Google Tag Manager itself. Your browser is requesting container data from Google’s servers although that container is still not published yet, thus no data will be returned. The solution here is to publish a Google Tag Manager container once you create it.

So go back to your Google Tag Manager interface, click Submit in the top right corner and publish the container (just keep in mind that all those changes/tracking codes will become active on a page and they will start tracking your visitors).

Important! Creating a version of the container is not enough. You need to actually publish the container.

How to avoid this issue in the future

In the future, always complete the following actions when you plan tracking a new website with GTM:

• Create a new container in Google Tag Manager.
• Publish it (with default settings).
• Install Google Tag Manager on your website according to instructions (or ask a developer to do it).
• Open your website in a browser and check Javascript Console (if you’re not familiar with it, here are short Chrome and Firefox instructions).
• If there’s no error in Tag Assistant – go ahead and start setting up your marketing tags.

Related resources:

• Google Tag Assistant tutorial
• Google Tag Manager tutorial (+ FREE e-book)