How to Handle 404 Errors on Your Website

A 404 error occurs when a browser requests a URL that doesn’t exist on the server. The server responds with a 404 "Not Found" status code, and the user sees an error page — sometimes a generic server message, sometimes a custom branded page depending on how the site is configured.

404 errors are a normal part of running a website. The question is not whether you have them, but which ones matter and what to do about them.

Finding Your 404 Errors

The best tool for finding 404 errors that matter to SEO is Google Search Console. Under the "Coverage" or "Indexing" report, you’ll find a list of URLs that returned 404 errors during Google’s crawl. These are the errors Google has encountered — and therefore the ones most likely to affect your rankings and crawl efficiency.

For a broader view, crawl your own site using Screaming Frog or a similar tool. This will surface any internal links pointing to 404 pages — links within your own site that lead nowhere. These degrade user experience and waste crawl budget.

Also check your server logs if you have access to them. Server logs show every request to your server, including requests from real users, bots, and crawlers. This gives you the fullest picture of what 404s are actually being hit.

Deciding What to Fix and What to Leave

Not all 404 errors are worth fixing. Many are caused by bots scanning for common vulnerability paths (like /wp-admin on non-WordPress sites), old bookmarks to pages you’ve intentionally removed, or mistyped URLs in external links you didn’t create and can’t edit.

Prioritise 404s that were pages with inbound links, organic traffic, or ranking history. A 404 on a page that was receiving 200 organic visitors per month and had ten backlinks is costing you real traffic. Fix it by implementing a 301 redirect to the most appropriate live page.

Internal 404s — where your own site links to a dead page — should always be fixed. They are entirely within your control and represent poor-quality signals to both users and search engines. Update the internal link to point to the correct live URL.

Creating a Helpful Custom 404 Page

Every website should have a custom 404 page rather than the generic server error message. A custom 404 page keeps users on your site, maintains brand consistency, and gives them a way to navigate back to useful content.

A good 404 page acknowledges the error without apologising excessively, offers a search box or links to popular pages, and maintains the site’s normal navigation. Humour can work well on 404 pages if it fits your brand, but the priority is getting the user to somewhere useful as quickly as possible.

Do not redirect all 404s to your homepage. This creates "soft 404s" — pages that return a 200 status code but show no relevant content. Search engines find these confusing, and they can cause indexing problems. A properly configured 404 page that returns a genuine 404 status code is the correct approach.