AJAX POST returns HTML instead of JSON – Chat not working

[Axel_0214]

Website URL

https://rldautoworx.kesug.com

Error Message

The chat_send.php AJAX POST request returns HTTP 200 with Content-Type: text/html containing InfinityFree browser verification JavaScript instead of the expected JSON response.

Other Information

The request already includes the __test cookie. Additionally, customer_chat.php returns 403 Forbidden, while its copy support_messages.php loads.

The __test cookie is already included in the request.
Hard-refreshing the page does not resolve the issue.

[system]

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[Lemni]

Beep boop, I’m a bot! I dug through the forum to get you started. I sometimes get things wrong though, so do with this what you will until a human has a look.

The 403 on customer_chat.php is the “chat” keyword block. The security check page is probably a separate problem, and I’m not sure of its cause yet.

Our 403 article lists “chat” as a blocked keyword in URLs, because live chat scripts constantly refresh pages and create a lot of server load. It says that renaming the files, as you did with support_messages.php, gets around the block. It also says hosting live chat scripts is still prohibited, so a chat that polls for new messages could still be a problem on free hosting.

That article is here:

Redirected to InfinityFree 403 Forbidden page

Getting a 403 error means the server is refusing to show your webpage. Here are the most common causes and how to fix them: 1. Website Files Are in the Wrong Location The Issue: Your domain might be pointing to an empty or non-existent folder. How to Check: Log into your InfinityFree client area Go to Accounts → [Select your account] → Domains → [Find your domain] → Manage Find the Directory Status card, and look at the Directory displayed there Understanding the folder structure: Your fi…

On the verification page, the browser security article says AJAX calls within your own website work fine. Your chat_send.php URL also contains “chat”, so it’s worth renaming it before debugging further. The article describes the page you’re seeing: it loads /aes.js, sets a __test cookie and redirects to the same URL with ?i=1 added. It says that page is returned to anything that can’t run the check, such as a script or a cross-domain request.

The article is here:

Browser Security System - Features and Limitations

InfinityFree uses a security system on all free hosting accounts to ensure your website is accessed by real web browsers, not bots or automated scripts. While this protects your site from malicious traffic, it can affect certain types of access. How the security system works The system checks that visitors can execute JavaScript and accept cookies: features that all modern web browsers support. This verification happens automatically and most website visitors will never notice it. You may occa…

Can you paste the exact URL your fetch calls for chat_send.php? I’d like to see whether it’s a relative path or a full address, and whether the host matches the page exactly, including https:// and any www.. A cookie set for one host isn’t sent to another, so a mismatch would make the check run again.

[Axel_0214]

Thank you for your response.

I checked the browser Network tab and confirmed that both the page and AJAX endpoint use the same origin:

Page: https://rldautoworx.kesug.com/RLD_/support_messages.php

AJAX endpoint: https://rldautoworx.kesug.com/RLD_/chat_send.php

The request uses POST with credentials: 'same-origin', and the __test cookie is included.

My existing chat currently polls every 3 seconds.

Before making any changes, I would like to confirm:

1. Is renaming chat_send.php, chat_fetch.php, and other endpoints containing “chat” an acceptable solution to the URL restriction?

2. Is polling-based customer support messaging allowed on InfinityFree free hosting if I reduce the polling frequency, for example to 15–30 seconds?

3. If polling is not allowed, is there a supported alternative for implementing customer support messaging?

I want to comply with InfinityFree’s hosting policies.

Thank you!

[Meishin]

Anything live is not allowed on free hosting when said code is running on hosting directly. You must find a 3rd-party solution like tawk.to.