404 page: what happens when a page isn't found

A 404 page is what your website shows when someone asks for a page that does not exist: a mistyped address, an old link, a page you deleted. Every website gets these visits. A helpful 404 page says plainly that the page is not there, gives your phone number, and links to the home page and your main services so the visitor can carry on. A better fix, where you can, is to stop the visit from ending on a 404 in the first place by forwarding old addresses to the page that replaced them.

What "404" actually means

When a browser asks your website for a page, the server answers with a short code along with the page. "200" means here it is. "301" means this page has moved permanently, go here instead. "404" means not found. The number itself is just a technical label; visitors should never need to understand it.

Most website builders and hosts show a default 404 page if you do not set one up. Often it is a blank page with "404 Not Found" in large letters, or a generic message from the hosting company with their logo. To a customer that looks like your business has disappeared.

Why visitors end up on a 404

Old links. Someone bookmarked your old "Specials" page, or another website links to a page you removed.
A redesign changed addresses. The old site had a page at one address and the new one uses a different one. This is the biggest cause on small business sites.
Typos. Someone types your address by hand and gets a letter wrong after the slash.
Printed material. A flyer or vehicle wrap with a specific page address that no longer exists.
Google's memory. Google may keep showing an old page for a while after you delete it.

What a helpful 404 page says

Keep it short and friendly, and give people a way forward. A good small business 404 page has:

A plain heading. "Sorry, we can't find that page." No jokes that might confuse, no technical codes in large type.
One sentence of explanation. "It may have moved, or the link may be out of date."
Your phone number, as a tappable link. Many people who hit a 404 just want to reach you.
Links to your most useful pages: home, services, contact, and perhaps your two most visited services.
Your normal menu and footer. The page should look like the rest of your site so visitors know they are in the right place.

An example for a roofing company:

Sorry, we can't find that page. It may have moved or the link may be old. You can call us at (555) 010-4567, or try one of these: Home · Roof replacement · Roof repair · Storm damage · Contact us

That is enough. A search box can help on a big site with many pages; on a ten-page site it is not needed.

What to avoid on a 404 page

Automatically sending visitors to the home page. It seems helpful, but it confuses people who were expecting a specific page, and it hides the problem from you and from Google.
Showing an error that looks like the whole site is broken.
Cute illustrations with no links. A picture of a lost dog is fine if the links are there too; on its own it is a dead end.
Removing the menu. A visitor needs it more here than anywhere.

Forwarding old addresses is the real fix

A good 404 page catches the visitors who slip through. The better fix is to forward each old page address to its closest new page, so they never see a 404.

This forwarding is called a redirect, usually a "301 redirect", which tells browsers and Google "this page has moved permanently to this new address". Visitors who follow an old link land on the right page, and Google learns where the page went.

If you have changed websites recently, or are about to, this matters a lot. Pages that Google has shown to customers for years are part of how people find you. When those addresses go dead, those visits end on a 404. Old page addresses: why forwarding them matters explains this in more detail, and what happens to Google when you change website builders covers the bigger picture.

Most website builders have a redirect setting, often under "SEO", "URL redirects" or "301 redirects" in the site settings. You enter the old address and the new one.

How to find the 404s visitors are hitting

You do not have to guess. A few ways to find broken addresses:

Google Search Console. This free tool from Google shows pages Google tried to reach on your site and could not find, in the Pages report. Google Search Console for small business owners shows how to set it up and where to look.
Your old site's page list. If you redesigned, list every address from the old site and open each one on the new site. Any that land on a 404 need a redirect.
Your printed materials. Check every address on your flyers, cards and vehicles.
Ask your web person whether your host keeps a log of not-found requests.

Fix the ones that matter first: pages that had visits, pages other sites link to, and addresses on printed materials.

Testing your 404 page

Open your site and type a made-up address after your domain, like your website address followed by /this-page-does-not-exist. You should see your own friendly 404 page, with your menu, your phone number and links that work.

Check it on your phone too. Then tap every link on it to make sure none of them leads to another 404.

If you see a blank page, a message from your hosting company, or something that does not look like your site, ask whoever runs the site to set up a custom 404 page. Most builders have a setting for it.

When a 404 is the right answer

Not every missing page needs a redirect. If a page never had any visits and there is no sensible replacement, letting it return a 404 is fine. The same goes for spam addresses that hacked sites sometimes pick up: those should stay gone, not forward to your home page. A 404 tells Google honestly that the page no longer exists, and Google will stop showing it over time.

What to do this week

Type a made-up address on your site and see what your 404 page looks like.
If it is a default page, set up a custom one with your phone number and five links.
If you changed websites in the last year, list your old page addresses and check each one.
Add redirects for any important old address that lands on a 404.
Set up Google Search Console if you have not, and look at the not-found list once a month.

If your site has been through a redesign that left a trail of broken addresses, you can see your site rebuilt first, with the old page addresses kept working on the new site.