What is a 404 Error and How to Fix It

Error 404: Page Not Found is one of the most commonly encountered HTTP status codes on the internet. When you see this error, you’ve accessed the wrong URL, tried to access a page that has been moved or no longer exists, or run into a server issue.

In most cases, a 404 error means that the requested page cannot be found because the URL is incorrect, the page has been removed or changed, or the site’s having problems.

In this article, we will discuss what the 404 error code really means, why it occurs, how to fix it, and some best practices to prevent it from happening again. 

What Does Error 404 Mean?

A 404 error is an HTTP status code that indicates the server of the website is working, but the particular page you are looking for is unreachable. In other words, you successfully connected to the website, but the resource tied to the URL you are searching for does not exist at that location. 

This error might appear in different formats such as “404 Not Found”, “HTTP 404 Not Found”, “404 Page Not Found”, “The requested URL was not found on this server”, or “File or directory not found”. All these error messages convey that the requested webpage is unavailable. 

Why Am I Getting a 404 Error?

There are a few reasons why you’re running into an error 404, all relating to the missing resource at the accessed URL. These include:

• Incorrect or broken URLs: For example, a typo in the URL, an incomplete address, or a poorly formatted link. You’re trying to access a page where one doesn’t exist.
• Page deletion or relocation without proper redirects: When a webpage is moved to a new URL or completely removed without proper redirection. In this case you’re trying to access a URL that used to exist but no longer does.
• Redesign of a website: When web admins change the structure of a website they might change or rename folder paths without taking into account the consequences of those changes. What you might have previously accessed under /research/fun-facts/ might now be /blog/fun-facts/, which can lead to a lot of broken links if redirects haven’t been set up.
• Server-side or hosting issues: In some cases, misconfigured server settings, restricted permissions, or incorrectly set up caching rules make the content unreachable even though the content exists. Also, the DNS misconfigurations where a domain points to the wrong server, which can happen during migrations or domain updates, can direct the users to a page that no longer exists.
• The page was made private: Sometimes a URL will be visible to those that are logged in, or have certain permissions. To them, the page will be visible while normal users only see a 404 error.

How to Fix 404 Error

Depending on the context, an error code 404 doesn’t always mean that the content is permanently lost. If the URL is definitely correct, then you can probably still find the content you’re looking for. Let’s go through the fixes for both users and site admins.

As a user:

1. Check the URL: Look for typos, missing characters, unnecessary slashes or spacing.
2. Try searching for the page: If you encountered the 404 error from a search engine, try searching for the page using the website’s search feature. Sometimes the page exists but under a different URL.
3. Navigate to a higher-level section: Delete the part of the URL after the last “/” to return to the parent directory. From there, you might be able to find the updated links or related content. For example, if a blogpost was renamed or the slug changed, it will still appear in the /blog/ archive.
4. Check the Archives: If the page really is gone entirely, you can try finding an archived version of the page on the Wayback Machine.
5. Refresh and clear cached data: If the page works for others but not for you, refresh the page or try clearing cached files and cookies from your web browser so it can load a fresh version for you. 

As a site admin:

1. Identify broken or missing URLs: Use tools like Google Search Console, server logs, website crawlers, or link-checking plugins to find:
   • Broken internal links
   • Outdated external links pointing to your site
   • Pages removed or renamed without redirects.
2. Redirect outdated internal URLs: If you’ve moved a page to a new location, set up a 301 redirect which sends users from the old page to the new URL.
3. Redirect backlinks: If a backlink is referencing a page that no longer exists, set up a 301 redirect to take incoming users to the correct page or the next-most relevant page.
4. Restore or recreate the page: In cases where the content was erroneously removed or moved, restore or recreate the page. If it is moved somewhere else, update any internal links pointing to that non-existent page to avoid long redirect chains.
5. Fix server configuration issues: If the error 404 appears even when the page exists, reset permalinks or routing settings, make sure the page is publicly viewable, and verify your CMS is generating the correct path.
6. Check domain and DNS settings: Incorrect DNS settings can direct the users to a server where your pages don’t exist. For issues caused by migrations or hosting changes:
   • Check if the DNS records are pointing to the correct server
   • Make sure the domain is properly connected to the hosting environment
   • Verify DNS propagation  

Overall, you can prevent most of the 404 errors by having a good checklist to follow for keeping the internal and external links of your website up to date when changing pages. Check your site regularly for broken links and fix them as soon as possible.

When you move a page to a new location or remove a page entirely from the website, update those URLs or redirect users to the correct page. Pay extra attention whenever you redesign or make big structural changes to your website. If you can, update internal links to point directly at the correct page rather than relying on redirects. Give you have little to no control over backlinks, redirects are important.

As a normal user, there is not much you can do to get content behind a 404 error that is truly gone beyond checking the URL, trying to find the page elsewhere online, or checking the Wayback Machine. If the website is not maintained properly, the users will end up facing the error. 

Conclusion

You run into a 404 error when you’re trying to access a page that doesn’t exist on a website that is working correctly. The error itself doesn’t tell you why the page is gone, but there are steps you can follow.

For users, an error 404 can mean a treasure hunt to find out whether the page has been moved to somewhere else on the website or, if it really doesn’t exist anymore, looking up an old archived copy.

Key takeaways:

• A 404 error indicates that the server is reachable, but the requested page does not exist at the specified URL.
• Common causes include broken or incorrect URLs, removed or relocated pages without proper redirection, or changes to the domain or DNS settings.
• As a user, you can try to refresh the page or try to find the page manually.
• As a site admin, most internal 404 errors can be prevented through proper workflows when moving or removing pages.

Depending on the size of the website, site admins want to try to avoid having any 404’d pages on their website where they can help it. Setting up redirections is how you can make that possible. There are tools available that can help you audit your website to track down dead links and pages, many of them free. Internal links, which you have complete control over can be pointed in the right direction, while backlinks leading to your site can be redirected to a new appropriate page.

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