Posted on July 12th, 2010It’s happened to all internet users, you click on a website to obtain information and you receive an error that states the page does not exist. This is called a 404 error indicating that the inputted link is incorrect and no redirects were placed to inform users of changes. This indicates that the website had not been set up with custom errors so the user is sent to this generic error page.
This is obviously tremendously confusing for users. Also its bad news for the website owner as they are driving traffic away, especially if the user clicks on the site in a search engine.
How it Works
First the user sends a request for a specific web page. The server looks for the corresponding file for that exact URL address. If the file exists, the server responds with a message, usually consisting of the page content. If the link does not exist or is broken, the server returns an error code that states the page or file cannot be found.
Two Types of 404 Errors
There are two primary kinds of 404 errors; soft 404’s and hard 404’s. Most major search engines discourage the use of hard 404’s as they can be confusing. As stated above, instead of returning a missing URL, the server returns the homepage of the site or an error page. This also causes search engines to index non-existent and duplicate URL’s resulting in inaccurate search results.
Hard 404 are simply the opposite as they return the non-existent URL phrase. This is the preferred method by many major search engines. It doesn’t clog their systems and the crawlers don’t waste time on indexing URL’s that aren’t real.
How to Utilize 404 Pages to your Advantage
404 pages are not always bad. A widget can be imbedded into the 404 page error that assists users in finding what they need by providing suggestions. These suggestions can provide a link to a parent subdirectory, a sitemap webpage or a site search query and search box. These can all be beneficial in helping users get to the site they need if its been revamped.
Although generally a bad sign, 404 errors can be used for beneficial tactics further helping the potential customer reach their virtual destination. 404 errors are issues that all internet users will continue to run into, however, with customizable widgets, it might make for an easier experience in the future with the ability to be direct to the site.