How
to Create Good Custom '404 Error' Pages
When
visitors to your site misspell your URLs, or follow broken
links to your pages, their browser will display a '404 Error'
page that will tell them that the page they were trying
to access does not exist. At this point, they will
most likely leave, rather than trying to guess how to get
to their intended destination.
Fortunately,
there is an easy solution to this problem: create a user-friendly
custom '404 Error' page.
If
you own your domain, your web host will most likely offer
you the possibility of uploading a custom '404 Error' page,
which will be automatically displayed every time somebody
tries to access a non existent URL within your domain.
You
can design your custom error page using the same editor
you normally use to create your regular web pages. There
are a few things you can take into account when designing
your error page, to provide your visitors with the best
possible user experience:
- Brand
your error page with your logo and the look and feel of
your site.
- Provide
your visitors with a link to your main page (homepage).
- Include
a link to a site map, or display links to the main sections
of your site.
- Include
a search box for those visitors who don't want to take
time to navigate your site to find the information they
need, so they can just type-in their selected keywords,
and immediately get a list of all the relevant pages within
your site.
To
upload your custom '404 Error' page, ask your webhost or
visit their website for directions. Most web hosts
use Cpanel, a popular interface that allows webmasters to
perform website management and control tasks. If your web
host is using Cpanel, log in and go to the main menu, where
you will see a link to the 'Custom Error Pages' section.
After following that link, you will be able to easily
upload your custom '404 Error' page using a built-in web
based HTML editor (just cut and paste the HTML of your custom
error page and click the 'upload' button).
About
The Author
Mario
Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest ( http://www.theinternetdigest.net
), an online collection of web design and Internet
marketing articles and resources. You can freely reprint
his weekly articles in your website, ezine, newsletter
or ebook, just include this resource box.
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