Do you know what a 404 page is? ⁠⁠

⁠⁠No? That’s totally okay! ⁠⁠

⁠⁠What is a 404 Page

A 404 page is the page that pops up when you type in a URL wrong, or when a page no longer exists.⁠⁠ I can’t be the only one to have accidentally typed in the wrong URL. Or clicking on a link only to find that that page no longer exists, right?

Ideally, you can keep your website maintained. But I get it. There are other bigger problems to solve than remembering if all your website links work.

That’s where a 404 page comes in handy.

You do not need to make it super complex either. Creating a custom 404 page can act as larger and more in-depth navigation.

What To Put on Your 404 Page

You can put links to your

• About page
• Services page
• Pricing page
• FAQ page
• Blog page

This way, you’re making it easy for your website visitors to find what they are looking for. You’ve also made it easy to navigate to other pages on your site—a HUGE bonus that you’re reducing your bounce rate too!

Side note: Your bounce rate is the length of time people are on your site or web page. A high bounce rate could mean people aren’t staying on your website long. Learn more about bounce rates from Google Analytics.

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Additional Benefits to 404 Pages

Having a 404 page can help increase your brand awareness. Say you participated in an ad a long time ago and someone has an old link to a page that no longer exists. They click on it and jump to your website. Instead of a blank page, give them a branded 404 page. It can encourage them to come to check out the rest of your website.

⁠⁠⁠⁠I’ve seen some pretty clever 404 pages. If you need any inspiration you can Google 404 pages.⁠⁠ But really, the sky is the limit with how you could style it, and what to put on it.

How To Make a 404 Page

Creating a custom 404 page is super easy to create in Showit. Simply add a new page, set the page name to 404, and begin designing! And, if you have a blog you will also want a 404 page for your blog pages. You can easily duplicate your regular 404 page under your Blog templates.

If I’m your web designer, your custom 404 page will be included in your Showit Web Design Package as an added bonus! The above images are examples of custom 404 pages I created for a few of my website clients.

Do you have a custom 404 page? Or have you seen one that has stood out to you?