What is a 404 Error?
When a URL on a website is requested, but the URL does not exist, the website returns a 404 error to indicate that a page cannot be found.
Some ways that 404 errors are triggered are:
- A user clicked on a link from another website that leads to a page on the site that does not exist
- The URL used to exist on the site but has since been deleted
- A user mistypes the URL of a page on the site
- A bot / spider that crawls the website arrived at the URL in error (Googlebot, Yahoo bot, Bing bot, etc)
For more information about the 404 error code, please see this page: Google - Not found errors (404)
What is a 404 Error Page?
How Does a Brilliant Directories Website Handle 404 Error Pages?
Can the 404 Error Page be Changed?
How to Change Which Page Is Used as the 404 Error Page
- Navigate to SETTINGS >> ADVANCED SETTINGS
- Enter the name of the variable, "error_404", into the search field (entering simply "404" would find the setting as well)
- Enter the permalink /URL of the page:
- Once this change is saved, the page entered here will be used as the 404 error page.
How to Create a Custom 404 Page
- Navigate to CONTENT >> ADD NEW PAGE
- Add a unique Permalink (EG: "my404"):
- Make sure it is set as "Single Web Page":
- Save the page.
- Follow the steps in the "How to Change Which Page Is Used as the 404 Error Page" above to enter the permalink of the custom 404 error page to the "error_404" Advanced Setting.
How to Edit the Default 404 Page WIdgets
Many website owners would rather simply edit the language of the existing default 404 page rather than create a new 404 error page or use another existing page of of their site.
To edit the default 404 page, please follow these step:
- Navigate to TOOLBOX >> WIDGET MANAGER
- Type in the search field the widget name "Bootstrap Theme - Module - 404 Page Content"
- Click on "Customize" to make a custom copy of the Master Widget and add it to "My Widgets":
In this widget edit/add text, and style it differently. Remember to keep this page as light as possible to avoid any bandwidth overuse: