diff --git a/api/_common/upstream.js b/api/_common/upstream.js
index 52a333e..60245fb 100644
--- a/api/_common/upstream.js
+++ b/api/_common/upstream.js
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 export const upstreamError = (error, context = 'Lookup') => {
   const status = error.response?.status;
   if (status === 404 || status === 410) return { skipped: `No ${context} data for this host` };
-  if (status === 401 || status === 403)
-    return { error: `${context} authentication failed (check API key)` };
+  if (status === 401 || status === 403) return { error: `${context} blocked (HTTP ${status})` };
   if (status === 429) return { error: `${context} rate-limited by upstream` };
   if (status && status >= 500) return { error: `${context} upstream is unavailable` };
   if (error.code === 'ECONNABORTED') return { error: `${context} timed out` };
diff --git a/api/screenshot.js b/api/screenshot.js
index 441eb5d..725841b 100644
--- a/api/screenshot.js
+++ b/api/screenshot.js
@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ const screenshotHandler = async (targetUrl) => {
   try {
     return { image: await puppeteerScreenshot(targetUrl) };
   } catch (error) {
+    if (/ENOENT|Browser was not found|Could not find Chromium/i.test(error.message)) {
+      return { skipped: error.message };
+    }
     log.error(`puppeteer screenshot failed: ${error.message}`);
     throw error;
   }
diff --git a/api/tech-stack.js b/api/tech-stack.js
index baa2ab2..2d62eff 100644
--- a/api/tech-stack.js
+++ b/api/tech-stack.js
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ const techStackHandler = async (url) => {
     }
     return results;
   } catch (error) {
+    if (/ENOENT|Browser was not found|Could not find Chromium/i.test(error.message)) {
+      return { skipped: error.message };
+    }
     throw new Error(error.message);
   } finally {
     await wappalyzer.destroy();
diff --git a/src/web-check-live/utils/parse-json.ts b/src/web-check-live/utils/parse-json.ts
index f1a4181..f8d879c 100644
--- a/src/web-check-live/utils/parse-json.ts
+++ b/src/web-check-live/utils/parse-json.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,27 @@
-const FRIENDLY = 'API request failed. This may be a server error, timeout, or platform limitation.';
+const STATUS_MESSAGES: Record<number, string> = {
+  408: 'Request timed out',
+  429: 'Rate limited, try again later',
+  500: 'Internal server error',
+  502: 'Bad gateway, upstream server failed',
+  503: 'Service temporarily unavailable',
+  504: 'Gateway timed out',
+};
+
+const FALLBACK = 'API request failed. This may be a server error, timeout, or platform limitation.';
 
 // Decode a fetch Response as JSON, returning a structured error on failure
 export const parseJson = async (res: Response): Promise<any> => {
   try {
     const json = await res.json();
     if (!res.ok && !json?.error) {
-      return { error: json?.errorMessage || json?.message || `${FRIENDLY} (HTTP ${res.status})` };
+      const detail = json?.errorMessage || json?.message;
+      const statusMsg = STATUS_MESSAGES[res.status] || `${FALLBACK} (HTTP ${res.status})`;
+      return { error: detail ? `${statusMsg} - ${detail}` : statusMsg };
     }
     return json;
   } catch {
-    const status = res.status ? ` (HTTP ${res.status})` : '';
-    return { error: `API responded with ${status}. ${FRIENDLY}` };
+    const statusMsg = STATUS_MESSAGES[res.status] || FALLBACK;
+    return { error: `${statusMsg} (HTTP ${res.status})` };
   }
 };