What is a 404 Error Page? Why is it Important in a Website?

1. What Is A 404 Error Page?

The 404 error page shows that the server where the page should live has been contacted, but the page does not currently exist at the sought address. When sites go offline, pages or files are relocated or removed, or URLs are mistyped, 404 errors might occur. The default 404 error pages in all web browsers explain the mistake and link to the site’s home page. On the other hand, many websites develop bespoke 404 pages to match their brand and culture and, in some cases, give additional assistance or fun to users. The default 404 error pages in all web browsers explain the mistake and provide a link to the site’s home page. On the other hand, many websites develop bespoke 404 pages to match their brand and culture and, in some cases, give additional assistance or fun to users.

Moreover, the “404” denotes a response to an HTML code. In various ways, this 3 digit signifier has entered mainstream discourse. A 404 webpage is an ultimate destination that informs visitors to your website that the specified page is inaccessible or, in certain situations, does not exist. A 404 error informs users that the website cannot be accessed — and this might be a severe issue. When users cannot view a webpage, they are unable to gather the answer they require.

1.1 Identification of An Error 404 Page

When you get the following error messages when you land on a web page, then you know that it’s a 404 error page:

• 404 Not Found
• The requested URL was not found on this server.
• HTTP 404 Not Found
• 404 Error

1.2 Causes of the 404 Error

The error 404 can occur because of several reasons, but the most common ones include:

• The page you requested did not exist 
• The website server might be down
• Your internet connection might be down
• The link through which you searched might be broken
• The URL might be incorrect 
• The page you wanted to access would have been moved to a different address. 

2. Types of 404 Error Pages

There are two types of error 404 which you can see on a web page:

• Custom made 404 error page
  These error pages are made specially and do not simply pop up. These require an effort to be made, unlike the generic ones. The best benefit of these web pages is that they do not send your web surfers to an alternative website but instead allow the person to know that the particular webpage is facing some issues, and they may visit the so and so web page. You can make a professional Custom 404 error page with the help of Web Design Company India.
• Generic 404 error page
  These web pages are auto-generated and don’t require any work to be made. The people visiting will not understand anything and immediately search for an alternative of the web page and direct traffic to your competitors, who will probably be using custom error pages made by Web Design Company India.

3. Custom made 404 error page vs Generic 404 error page

The generic 404 error pages typically do not instruct the online surfer about what to do next and instead merely display an error 404 message on the webpage. If you don’t want to leave your website visitors in the dark, you might consider employing personalized / Custom 404 pages. You must hire specialists or a Web Development Company India for this.

3.1 Advantages of A Custom Made 404 error page

If you want your website to be professional, you must always hire Website Design Company India to build your 404 error page. Most savvy firms personalize their 404 pages so that the customer has a range of options for returning to a specific page on the website, such as a search box, footer links to popular pages on the site, a navigation bar similar to that on the site, or a simple link to the homepage. Other firms turn their personalized 404s into a sales opportunity by including a membership link or requesting a free ebook download.

3.2 Generic 404 error page

Generic 404 error pages do not have any advantage over the Custom 404 error page because the generic pages don’t contain any understandable or entertaining information. When you attempt to access a specific page on a website, you receive an error message stating, “Error 404 or 404 page not found.”As a guest, this isn’t a huge deal—the search didn’t provide the results you were searching for, so you may try again.
But what if you own the website?
Do you want users to arrive on a generic error page on your website? The Custom made 404 error page is far better than simply having a Generic 404 error page.

4. Why are Custom 404 Error Pages Important

A bespoke 404 page alleviates the frustration of not getting on the desired page. It informs your user that their request has encountered an error. Perhaps they mistyped the URL, the page is temporarily offline, or the page is no longer available. An efficient 404 page will notice the error and redirect visitors to appropriate web pages. This allows you to provide vital links to your visitors that would otherwise hide behind a standard HTTP error page. These links might be to your homepage, FAQ, or any relevant links that will keep the people on your site when they otherwise would have gone.

5. Things Not to do With Your Error 404 Page

It would help to avoid a few things when creating a custom 404 error page. There are certain things you should strictly tell the professional Web Development Company India not to do to your error 404 page.

5.1 Never Use a Random Page on Your Website as Your 404 Page

The most common blunder is making your 404 error a copy of your home page, contact page, or any other unexpected page with no explanation. This will only keep your page preference down on the google and do you no benefit. You don’t want to confuse your users or have them quit your site to do business elsewhere.
Not only that, but forwarding a 404 error to your website’s homepage or the comparable page might cause serious SEO concerns. Instead of using a random page on your website ass your error 404 page, you must think about contacting Web Development Company India to make one for you.

5.2 Use your 404 page as a last resort

And although having a custom 404 page is vital, it’s also crucial that users don’t stumble on it too frequently–stay on top of the glitches and completely eradicate as many of them as possible because if you don’t remove glitches constantly and keep making the Custom made 404 error pages then eventually people surfing your web page will get frustrated to see a custom made 404 error page now and then and might think of finding an alternative website for their requirements.

But if it becomes a bottleneck for too many links, the 404 error page will not hinder your SEO efforts. If it occurs, your SEO will deteriorate since Google will detect that users are not finding what they are looking for on your website. So, it is always preferred to hire a Web Design Company India as they are considered the best and cheap custom 404 error page makers.

6. Things to do With Your Error 404 Custom Page

Tell the Website Design Company India whom you have hired that the error 404 design must fit in with the rest of your website. Because of the familiarity, a user who has been there previously is more likely to return. To make the issue less stressful for your users, be transparent about what’s happening and don’t be afraid to take responsibility for the error with comedy and charisma. This will also assist your users in locating what they are seeking from your website. It would help if you considered making your Custom error 404 page helpful and something with which your regular customers can understand that the website has faced some issues on this link. If possible, try making it humorous and spread a positive message by making your customers stay and not visit any alternative website.