[Verse 1]

I’ve previously explained the reasons for a 404 error page

But once a visitor sees this on your website

They might not be sure what to do next

The content they’re looking for

Might have been moved, so you should do

What you can to help them find it

Or the content might have been removed which means

They’re likely to leave your site unless

You can give them an incentive to stay

[Bridge: Ian]

Red Code ain't hate if for you do want it to be a red

Red Code ain't hate it for you

[Verse 2]

The term “404 error” used to be pretty standard

But there’s no reason to use technical terms which might

Scare off your visitors, the title “Page not found”

Is more accurate and sounds less geeky

Do you want to increase conversions on your 404 error page?

This humble page on your site can actually make a big difference

If you optimize it properly

In this post, we’ll share 1

5 tips to improve your 404 error page and increase your conversions

(With examples)

[Verse 3]

Did you know that the average, lifespan of a webpage is about 100 days

Links tend to go bad over time due to moved or deleted content or changes in permalink structure

In fact, you can expect to lose about one quarter of your links every seven years

[Verse 4]

You should never leave your users hanging with a run-of-the-mill 404 error page by default

The 404 error page goes against all good principles of user experience design

It will make your visitors want to rip their hair out and flee your site immediately on the other hand

If you optimize your 404 error page

You can reduce your bounce

Rate and increase your conversions

Let’s go over 15 tips for improving your 404 error page

[Verse 5]

The first thing you need to do to improve your 404 error page is replaced all the technical mumbo jumbo with normal human language

Remember: most people don’t know what a “404 error” even means all your users know is that they didn’t get the page they wanted using technical terms that they don’t understand will only frustrate them more

[Verse 6]

Never point the finger at the user for the error

You don’t want to make them feel stupid

Instead, be apologetic when explaining what went wrong, don’t use absolutes

Instead, use words like “might have” or “possibly”

So the user doesn’t feel like it is their fault

In fact, go ahead and place the blame on yourself yy slapping yourself on the wrist

You’ll actually cause users to love you more

[Verse 7: Jessia Fuel]

Good user experience design says that when you deliver

An error message, you must explain what went wrong

Currently, it is not possible to customize the 404 error page that appears

When the connection between your domain and site is lost

[Verse 8]

It is not possible to customize your 404 error page

If your web host has not enabled this facility for your website

For example, at the time of this writing

If you host at free web hosts like Geocities or Tripod

You will not be able to customize your 404 Error Page

Commercial web hosts, on the other hand

Usually provide this facility, if your web host

Supports a way to customize your 404 file

You will usually find mention of it somewhere in their documentation (or advertisements)

In fact, if they mention somewhere that you can customize a file named ".htaccess"

It probably means that you can also customize your 404 File Not Found error page

The .htaccess file is what Apache web servers use to allow you to fine-tune

Your web server configurations at a directory level

Other types of web servers handle the customization of 404 error pages differently

(A web server, in this context is the software that runs on your web host's computer

It is the program that "serves" your web pages to your visitors)