What is a 404 page and do I need one?
- Apr 19
- 1 min read
What is a 404 page?
A 404 page is what shows up when something goes wrong on your website.
Usually when:
a link is broken
a page was moved or renamed
or someone typed in the wrong URL
Instead of landing on a real page, they get a “not found” message.
Do you actually need one?
Yes, but not in a complicated way.
Without a 404 page, people hit a dead end. And most won’t try again.
They’ll just leave.
What does a 404 page actually do?
It gives you a second chance.
Instead of:
“This page doesn’t exist”
You can say:
“This page isn’t here—but here’s where to go next”
That small shift keeps people on your site.
What should be on it?
Nothing fancy.
Just:
a simple message
a link back to your homepage (or another helpful page)
That’s enough.
Why this matters (even if your site is small)
Most people don’t think about this when they’re building a site.
But things change:
pages get renamed
links get shared incorrectly
mistakes happen
A 404 page quietly catches all of that.
That’s it
It’s not something you’ll use every day.
But when something breaks, it’s the difference between:
someone staying
or
someone leaving
Comments