Tips To Create A Custom 404 Not Found Page In WordPress

Nishil Mistry - April 15, 2022, 840

There is nothing as annoying and frustrating as coming across a page that doesn’t exist. It not only comes as a bummer to your users, but also leaves them perplexed about your service offerings and website navigation.

The good news is that you can create a custom 404 page in WordPress to let your customers know that the url they are on is an incorrect one and also redirect them to the right page.

What is a WordPress 404 Page?

Also known as HTTP 404, 404 not found, and 404 error, a 404 error happens when the visitor clicks on the link of a page that doesn’t exist. There are quite a few other scenarios as well. If the user makes a mistake in the spelling of a URL, or you deleted a page without creating a redirection URL 404 error can occur. You can Also read about What is HTTP Bad Request Error 400? How to Fix it?

There are times when the website is down due to the number of users visiting your website exceeding the number your server can handle. This also causes the 404 error to come about.

Whatever the scenario, maybe you want your visitors to have a pleasant and well-informed browsing experience.

A customized WordPress 404 can be used to inform your customers about the broken link in a creative way without pissing them off. So, how to go about it?

Well, that’s what this post is for. Let’s take a look at some amazingly useful tips to create a custom 404 page in WordPress.

Add The Home Page Link
Have A Menu Bar In Place
Do Not Ignore Your Website’s Branding
Keep It Light-Hearted And Humorous
Use Good 404 Template Plugins

1. Add The Home Page Link

You need to keep certain good practices in mind while creating a WordPress 404 template for your website. One of those practices is to ensure that the visitor is not left hanging in between. That’s why you must always have a provision in place to direct your customer to the home page or another page of your choice.

2. Have A Menu Bar In Place

Having a menu bar is also an essential practice to follow as it would allow your website visitors to return to safety. Websites not having one in place are bound to leave their visitors confused.

3. Do Not Ignore Your Website’s Branding

Branding pundits advise you to be consistent with your business’ branding and even your ‘WordPress 404 page not found’ template is not an exception either. Your WordPress 404 template must have your brand logo and should also follow the color theme of your brand/website.

4. Keep It Light-Hearted And Humorous

Surprise your visitors with humorous statements and captions as it would be well-received by them and also make them laugh a bit. Being creative never hurts. On the contrary, it helps handle the situation better.

5. Use Good 404 Template Plugins

If you are a WordPress user, you have several WordPress 404 plugins at your disposal, and yes we understand that you might get lost in the ocean of plugins you will find out there, so let’s make your life easy.

One such plugin is WP Features Content and Slider. The plugin is apt for your needs as it comes equipped with 3 layouts and more than 20 slider and grid designs. Since it is fully responsive and comes loaded with a touch-based slider, it will enhance the browsing experience.

With exceptional compatibility with all major WordPress themes and advanced features such as drag-drop post-order change, you will find it extremely flexible.

Below are listed some more features of the plugin.

Easy integration with all modern page builders such as WPBakery, VC Composer, Gutenberg, Avada, and DIVI to name a few.
Center mode control- true/false.
Display posts in various categories.
Custom CSS editor
100 percent multi-language support.
Include or exclude multiple posts.

By using feature-rich plugins, you can not only create fully customized pages but also avoid 404-page errors every time you delete a page. You can redirect your visitors by doing the needful in just a few minutes. One such plugin is Yoast SEO.

It is a popular WordPress plugin that boasts a number of features you’d love to make the most of.

Conclusion:

Broken links can cost you dearly in more than one way. On one hand, it is a turn-off for your audience, and on the other, it jeopardizes your SEO rankings. Google encourages website owners to have a crystal clear strategy and approach when it comes to providing a user-friendly and pleasant browsing experience. For the same reason, you must never take a custom 404 page in WordPress for granted.

Hope you found the post useful. For more information related to WordPress 404, feel free to connect with us.