The Best 404 Error Pages (And How to Prevent Them From Ever Happening Again)

In your time on the Internet, you’ve probably stumbled across a 404 page or two. In technical terms, a 404 page is a page on a website that a user is directed to if they try to navigate to a page that either doesn’t exist or can’t be found on the server.

Back in the early days of the Internet, 404 errors usually transported you to a jarringly generic page which proclaimed, “The page cannot be found,” and provided some suggestions to help you find what you were looking for. Nowadays, many websites boast useful, funny, or just plain bizarre custom 404 pages.

• NPR’s amusing 404 page gives you a list of articles about lost people (like Amelia Earhart), places (like the city of Atlantis), and things (like your luggage).
• Blue Fountain Media’s 404 page lets you play Pac-Man in your browser.
• This brilliant 404 page from Nouveller recreates the ill fated system security interface from Jurassic Park. Type a few things into the Control Console and see what happens!

While entertaining 404 pages can be fun to come across, 404 pages are no fun when they appear on your site — and cause your visitors to click away in frustration. Here are a few ways you can prevent your visitors from encountering the dreaded 404:

 

Monitor Your Site for 404s

 

You can use tools like Google Webmaster Tools or Google Analytics to monitor how many 404 errors your site’s visitors are getting. While a certain amount will be attributed to mistyped URLs, if you notice an increase in 404s, you can bet you’ve got either:

• A broken link on your site
• A page you’ve deleted or changed the URL for that users are still trying to access, or
• Another website linking to your site with a mistyped URL

 

Once you know where users are running into 404 errors on your site, you can fix broken links or apply redirects.

 

Keep Track of Your URL Structure

 

To avoid 404 errors caused by pages that have been moved, deleted, or had their names changed, try to avoid doing any of those things. It sounds like a simple concept because it is simple — in theory. In practice, however, there are plenty of valid reasons you may need to move or delete a page. You might misspell the URL of the original page, you might decide to consolidate two or more pages into one, or the page may simply become irrelevant.

 

You can avoid 404s on these pages by keeping track of your site’s URL structure in an Excel document or even a paper notebook and being proactive when you need to move or delete a page. Rather than allowing these pages to become dead links, you can redirect users who try to access them to the new URL or another page.

 

Use 301 Redirects

 

A 301 redirect is a way to automatically redirect users who land on a page of your site that doesn’t exist to another page of your choosing. Applying 301 redirects is an incredibly useful way to ensure your visitors don’t land on a 404 page. Use redirects for:

• Common typos. (For example, Fiver.com redirects to Fiverr.com)
• Pages you’ve moved to a new URL.
• Pages you’ve deleted, if there’s another relevant page users can visit instead.

 

Applying 301 redirects is easy. If you’re using WordPress, you can download a plugin to redirect traffic if a user tries to navigate to a page that has been deleted or moved. If you know PHP, you can use that to create 301 redirects.

 

Don’t Make Your 404 Page a Dead End

 

Even by following all these tips, you won’t be able to guarantee no one will ever get a 404 error when trying to visit your site. Since users will be ending up on these pages anyway, use them as an opportunity to direct users to the part of your site they do want to see — or at least to some of the other useful, relevant content you’ve got on your site.

 

You can use your 404 page to:

• Showcase your most popular posts or products, like Betabrand does.
• Help users find the page they’re looking for by including a search box, like WordPress does.
• Put users in touch with you by linking to your social media channels, email address, or help center, like Dropbox does.
• Encourage users to make a purchase, subscribe to your newsletter, or sign up, like eHarmony does.
• Direct users back to your homepage or another relevant page on your site, like Hootsuite does.

 

As you’re working on updating your 404 pages and redirecting users to other areas of your personal or business website, there are still some thing your website will still need in order to keep users engaged. And potentially making a purchase decision.

 

Here are 5 of those tips for your website:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most businesses stick to functional websites and don’t focus too much on re-branding or changing their website. Why mess with it if it works, right? Sometimes a simple design refresh can make a huge difference. Other times, you just need a complete change to stay up to date with the times.

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