Anyone who’s ever used the internet has encountered that pesky 404 error, preventing you from accessing the page you were trying to open, and forcing you to try and bypass it (if you’re feeling up to it at the moment) or simply (and more often) abandoning the page altogether.
If you’re willing to tackle the problem instead of giving up, you should first understand what a 404 error is.
What is a 404 error?
A 404 error represents a specific status code for the web’s Hypertext Transfer Protocol, informing a web user that a requested page is unavailable. It happens when there’s a miscommunication between the web browser and the web server, which results in an invalid website link and prevents the web page from loading.
In this case, the user typically gets an error code, which might show up differently depending on the website visited, such as:
- Error 404
- HTTP 404
- 404 Not Found
- Error 404 Not Found
- HTTP 404 Not Found
- 404 Page Not Found
- 404 File or Directory Not Found
- The requested URL was not found
- Cannot find the page you’re looking for
Why does a 404 error happen?
There are various culprits for a 404 error to show up, some of the most usual ones being that the website no longer contains the requested content, the content has moved to another URL on the website, or the server hosting the website isn’t working properly.
Other potential reasons include a broken connection between the server and the website, the domain system failing to convert the requested domain name into an IP address, the domain name no longer existing, or something on the side of the user, such as linking or typing the URL incorrectly.
How to fix a 404 error as a user
If you encounter this error as a visitor to a certain web page, there are some things you can try.
- Refreshing the page: You can do this by clicking the refresh button at the top of your browser or pressing the F5 button on your keyboard.
- Checking the URL: A spelling mistake or a misplaced forward slash or dash could be causing the error, so review the URL to make sure there aren’t any such mistakes.
- Checking the directory levels: Another trick is to backtrack – go back through the directory levels or pages one by one until you reach the homepage.
- Searching the website: Use the search function on the website to look for the specific content you’re trying to access by typing keywords that relate to the page you want to visit.
- Deploying a search engine: Enter the domain and relevant keywords to help you find the web page you’re looking for. You can also use the ‘keyword site:website.com’ option.
- Using a different web browser: Sometimes the browser is facing temporary problems. Try using a different browser or opening the web page in Incognito.
- Clearing cache and cookies: You may also resolve the 404 code by clearing your cache and deleting cookies, be it all of them or just those related to the website.
- Accessing from a different device: You may see a 404 error code if your PC is struggling with the internet connection, so you might have better luck using a mobile device backed by a data network.
- Contact the website administrator: If all else fails, and you really want to access the specific web page, then reach out to the website’s administrators, through contact information offered on the website’s main header or a dedicated contact page.
How to fix a 404 error as a website owner or administrator
Naturally, a 404 code isn’t just a problem for the user – it can lead to undesirable consequences for the business behind the website. These may include poor search engine optimization (SEO) performance, increased bounce rate, loss of reputation, as well as user dissatisfaction, declining business, and financial implications.
Possible tips for addressing this issue, or at least mitigating it, may include:
- Creating a customized 404 page: Users encountering a 404 error on your website is sometimes inevitable and out of your hands, but you can at least make the best of it by creating a customized 404 page that is fun, attention-grabbing, in line with your brand, or encourages users in another way to stay on your website.
- Creating a redirect: Instead of users stuck at the dead-end 404 error page, redirect them to a different web page relevant to the one they were originally trying to open (but don’t make it your homepage).
- Restoring the page: Sometimes the web page might be gone after being deleted by accident or it’s an old web page that still sees a large demand – review the information for accuracy and restore the web page.
- Correcting the link: Check if the URLs on your website are all correct and without any errors. Edit them on the back-end and make sure all the hyperlinks represent the correct web pages.
- Checking domain DNS settings: If your domain isn’t properly pointed to the hosting server, it can lead to a 404 response code, so verify that your DNS configurations are correct.
- Being proactive: Employ preventative measures like bringing in tools that crawl your website, highlighting 404 errors in need of repairs, and discovering broken links.
Conclusion
All things considered, a 404 error might be nothing more than a temporary issue, a glitch, a fluke, that might go away on its own. However, sometimes the entire problem can be efficiently solved by minimal intervention – be it on the user side or the website administrator side. Either way, it’s worth trying.
