An HTTP response indicating that a resource is no longer available and that the server expects the condition to be permanent.
A 410 response tells a client that the resource is no longer available and that the server expects this condition to be permanent. It conveys more about the intended state than a 404, which does not specify whether the absence is temporary or permanent.
Use this distinction to describe what happened to the resource, not as a shortcut to better rankings. If a page has a genuine replacement, a relevant redirect may better serve the customer. If the material is deliberately retired and has no suitable successor, a gone response can communicate that decision without pretending an unrelated page is equivalent.
The visitor can still receive a clear explanation and helpful navigation with a 410 response. Removing a resource also means checking references to it. Your own menus, content links and sitemap should not continue presenting a retired page as an active destination. External bookmarks may remain, so the response should be understandable when someone follows one later.
Takeaway: Choose the response that matches the content decision: moved, still useful, missing or intentionally retired. A 410 is a removal signal, not a replacement for planning the customer journey.
Example
A business permanently withdraws a downloadable resource that it no longer wants to distribute and has no replacement for it. The former download URL returns 410 with a brief explanation and a link to the resource library. It does not silently redirect the visitor to a different download that serves another purpose.
What to check
Confirm that removal is intentional before changing responses. Keep a record of retired URLs and remove internal links that advertise them. Do not rely on 410 to erase copies someone may already have downloaded or to remove the address instantly from every external system.
For more detail, see MDN 410 reference.