404 Error
A 404 error is the 'page not found' message visitors see when they land on a web address that doesn't exist on your site — usually from a broken link, a deleted page, or a mistyped URL.
Also known as: 404 · page not found · broken link
In plain English
A 404 error is the internet's way of saying "there's nothing here." When someone visits an address on your site that doesn't exist — because a page was deleted, a link is broken, or the address was mistyped — the site returns a 404 "page not found." It's not a crash; it's a dead end.
Why it matters for your business
A visitor who hits a 404 usually leaves, and if it was a page they expected (a product, a service, a link from Google), that's a lost customer who thinks you're disorganized. Pile up enough broken links and search engines start to see your site as poorly maintained. A tidy 404 page that points people somewhere useful softens the blow, but the real fix is making sure important pages don't dead-end.
How it's handled
Broken internal links get repaired, and when a page's address changes, a redirect sends visitors (and search engines) from the old URL to the new one — so an old link never turns into a dead end.
Common questions
- Are 404 errors bad for SEO?
- A few are normal and harmless. The problem is when important pages 404 — visitors hit dead ends and leave, and search engines drop those pages. The fix is usually a redirect from the old address to the right one.
- Why did a page that used to work start showing a 404?
- Common causes: the page was deleted or renamed, its web address (permalink) changed, or a link points to the wrong spot. When a URL must change, a redirect keeps the old link working.
Related terms
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