Why Websites Show 404 Errors

The server cannot find that address.

A 404 is an HTTP response meaning the requested resource was not found. The rest of the website may be working normally. The address might have been valid before, or it may never have existed.

The visible “page not found” design and the HTTP response are separate things. A friendly error page should still return the correct status. If it shows a missing-content message but returns 200 OK, Google may classify it as a soft 404.

Google's HTTP status documentation explains how missing-page responses are handled. Finding some 404s does not, by itself, mean the whole website is broken or subject to a penalty.

Find out why the link leads nowhere.

• A page moved: its slug or folder changed, but old links still use the previous address.
• Content was removed: a discontinued page no longer exists.
• A link is wrong: a typing mistake, incomplete address or incorrect letter case points somewhere unintended.
• A deployment failed: content that should exist was omitted or a routing rule stopped matching it.
• An old external link remains: another website or bookmark points to a previous version.

Reproduce the error using the exact URL, including its path. Compare it with the intended page and check recent changes. If the page should still be available, investigate the publishing or routing problem before deciding that a redirect is the answer.

Restore, redirect or leave it removed.

The right fix depends on the content, not simply on the presence of an error in a report.

1. The page should still exist: restore it at the intended URL and check that it returns a successful response.
2. The content has permanently moved: use a 301 redirect to its relevant replacement.
3. Your link contains a mistake: update the link directly to the correct page. Consider a redirect for a known old or frequently used address where it makes sense.
4. The content is genuinely gone with no equivalent: keep a proper 404 or use 410 for an intentional removal, and remove obsolete internal links.

Do not redirect every unknown address to the homepage. A visitor following a product or service link expects that subject, not an unexplained detour. An irrelevant redirect can hide the problem from your own reports without helping the reader.

Fix important journeys before chasing every URL.

Start with missing pages linked from your navigation, service pages or current campaigns. Then review old landing pages and addresses that still receive visits or useful external links. Those give you a practical reason to act.

Use a crawl to identify broken internal links and Search Console's Page indexing report to investigate examples Google has encountered. The report is not a real-time list of every visitor's problem. Server logs and analytics can add context if they are available.

Random invented URLs from bots do not all need individual redirects. Nor should you recreate obsolete content solely to make an error count reach zero. Record why a URL is left removed so it is not repeatedly “fixed” during later reviews.

Make the error page useful.

A good custom 404 page explains that the address could not be found and offers a sensible route back. Keep normal navigation, link to key sections and provide site search if the site already has a useful search function. Let people choose where to go.

Do not automatically send them away before they can read the message. Avoid blaming the visitor, and make links and controls accessible by keyboard. Check the page at a narrow mobile width just as you would a normal service page.

The design can match the brand while retaining an actual 404 response. Test a deliberately nonexistent address: seeing the right design is not enough if the server incorrectly reports success.

Include URL checks in every website change.

Before a rebuild or content cleanup, keep an inventory of existing addresses and decide what should happen to each. After launch, test old links, new navigation and the redirect map. Update the sitemap to contain the current canonical pages rather than missing or redirected URLs.

A focused technical audit can uncover patterns such as an entire old directory being missed. Fixing the underlying template, link or deployment rule is better than adding isolated patches forever.

Some 404s are the correct response to content that no longer exists. The maintenance goal is to protect useful journeys and return honest responses, not to make every possible address look like a live page.