404

1. A 404 is an HTTP status code often displayed as either "Not Found 404" or "Page Not Found" and is an indication that the web server exists, however, the page you're attempting to access does not exist. When this occurs it is possible that the web page may have moved, been deleted, or is currently being updated. Below is an example of what a 404 error message may look like.

404 not found error message

If you have access to the .htaccess file and want to create a custom 404 error page add the below line into your .htaccess file. In the below example, any time a visitor encounters a 404 error they will be directed the my_404.htm page. If you have a web based control panel such as cPanel, your 404 and other error pages can also be customized through this interface.

ErrorDocument 404 /my_404.htm

If you're a webmaster and have moved a web page to an alternate location use a 301 error code. If you have removed something with no intentions of returning it use a 410.

Tips on creating a smart 404 error page

  • At the very least, make sure your 404 error page has links to other sections of your site. One good example is a link to your sites site map.
  • If your site or blog has a search engine, make sure it's easily visible on the 404 error page.
  • If you're using Google Analytics, setup error tracking so you can know about your 404 errors. 404 errors can also be seen through the Google Web Master tools.
  • If you're familiar with how to program in a scripting language, instead of referring the 404 to a static page make a dynamic 404 error page. For example, with the Computer Hope 404 error page we log each 404, run the 404 URL through an algorithm that can usually determine the correct page if it exists and point the user to that page, and strip text in the URL and place it as a keyword in the search box.

2. See the area code listing for information about the 404 area code.

3. Shorthand used in text-based communications that indicate you have no idea.

Also see: 410, Chat definitions, HTTP