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Customize Your 404 Error Messages For Maximum Benefit

Don’t you just hate it when you try to open a webpage but end up reading an error message? If your website has lots of 404 error messages, there’s a huge risk that visitors will get turned off and not return anymore. This results to a loss of confidence in your site, decrease in follower count, and overall decline in potential revenue.

What’s great about WordPress is that you can easily configure your 404 error page so that it looks a bit more pleasing. In fact, you can check the following websites that used their respective 404 error pages to make a mark:

If you are planning to do something similar, here are instructions on how to customize your 404 error messages for maximum benefit:

1. From the WordPress Admin Dashboard, click Appearance > Editor.

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2. On the right side of the Edit Themes panel, look for the file 404.php and click on it.

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3. On the 404 template, you can pretty much put anything that you want on the error page. A little skill in PHP and HTML should do the trick in customizing your 404 template. If you are afraid to destroy the 404 template, it’s safe to change the content within the h1 heading or the page-content class.

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Many experts in SEO and web management believe that the 404 page can do wonders to make site visitors stick around despite the error. The following contents are highly recommended to be placed in the 404 page:

  • A friendlier message to replace “404. Not Found.” You may opt to apologize for the error.
  • Link to alternative pages on the site, perhaps the home page, an archive page, or the sitemap.
  • A search field where any visitor who lands on the 404 page can just enter keywords on the search bar.

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