Issue #2: Creating an outstanding custom 404 page

Let’s face it: mistakes will always happen and probably it’s impossible to totally prevent the existence of these 404 errors. This is why having a user-friendly custom 404 page is a MUST for any website. A nicely branded custom 404 page will help your visitors to find the information they are looking for, as well as providing other helpful content recommendations and encouraging them to explore your site further.

Here are some suggestions for creating an effective 404 page:

• tell your visitors clearly that the page they are looking for cannot be found

• it’s always a good idea to provide a way for visitors to report a broken link

• use the same look and feel as the rest of your regular website

• you may add links to your homepage or other highly relevant content pieces

• realize it’s an inconvenience to your visitors, apologize for the situation and give them some useful and relevant information if you can

• tell your visitors what you want them to do next in order to find what they were looking for

• use a friendly language and don’t be afraid to use humor too

The point: you need a simple, yet useful 404 page to improve the user experience and to help both visitors and search engines to find what they are looking for. Don’t overthink it, it’s a regular HTML – or PHP – file, just like any other page on your website. And if you have a WordPress site, you can use some handy plugins to easily create some nice custom 404 pages. For example:

https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-404-pro/

And that's it my friends!

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