What Is A 404 Error, And Why Does It Occur?
Ever come across that annoying “404 Not Found” message while surfing the web?
When you see a 404 error, it means the server can’t find what you’re after. But it’s not just about missing pages. There are various reasons – like the server withholding info or the content being taken down.
And guess what? Even a tiny typo in a URL can lead you to a 404 page instead of where you wanted to go – like when you mess up a blog post’s web address.
404 errors don’t just bug you; they’re harmful for your website. They mess up your search rankings, break your backlinks, and worst of all, drive away potential visitors and customers.
How Does The 404 Error Affect Your Website?
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User Experience:
When users encounter a 404 error, it means they’re trying to reach a non-existent page. This can annoy users and make them leave your site. It can also increase your bounce rate, which measures how many visitors leave after viewing just one page.
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
Search engines don’t like crawling and indexing pages that return 404 errors. They don’t want to show pages with these errors in search results. This can lower your website’s rank, making it harder for potential customers to find you organically.
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Missed Conversion Opportunities:
If a user encounters a 404 error while trying to reach a product page, signup form, or other crucial section, you’ve lost a potential conversion.
Plugins For Redirecting 404 Error Pages In WordPress
- Various plugins are available in WordPress; you can simply use these plugins and redirect your 404 pages.
- You can deliver the best user experience without harming your search rankings by redirecting your 404 pages.
- By redirecting your 404 error pages, you’re sending users to a new “working” page and informing search engine crawlers about the new location of that page.
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“All 404 Redirect to Homepage” Plugin
The All 404 plugin can fix all random links that may appear on your websites and redirect them to the Homepage. This plugin is quite different from other plugins as it does not redirect manually by creating individual URLs. Instead, it works by redirecting all of the 404 pages of your site to your Homepage. Therefore, anyone encountering a broken link to your website will be redirected to the Homepage rather than the 404 error page.
How to Use All 404 Redirect to Homepage Plugin?
- First, install and activate the All 404 Redirect to Homepage plugin.
- Go to the settings page of the All 404 Redirect to the Homepage.
- Now, set the redirection status to Enable, and enter your homepage URL in the ‘Redirect all 404 pages to‘ option.
- Lastly, click on the Update option to save the changes.
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“Redirection” Plugin
Redirection is one of the most famous plugins, with more than 2 million active installs. For the WordPress redirection manager, you can set up 301 redirects and keep track of 404 errors, which reduces errors and enhances your site ranking.
The Redirection Plugin is free and makes it easy to redirect traffic to a new URL from broken links. In addition, you can set up a conditional redirect that helps direct the visitors to another page by fixing certain criteria.
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“All-in-One SEO” Plugin
All-in-One SEO is the plugin for redirecting your users from old to new URLs as it comes with a redirection manager to manage 301 redirects and tracks the 404 error to fix dead-ends.
This plugin automatically sends users from old URLs to new URLs, even in search engines, to help you avoid losing your traffic because of such errors. Furthermore, in the All in One SEO, you can manually add source URLs and target URLs easily.
You can use automatic redirect features to confirm your users and the search engines find your new content whenever you delete a post or modify the URL. So it redirects your user and helps in growing website traffic and improving search engine ranking.
Other Plugins to Manage 404 Errors in WordPress
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SeedProd
SeedProd is one of the best landing page builders for creating various landing pages such as the 404 page, coming soon, maintenance mode, thank you pages, etc. In addition, SeedProd is one of the easy-to-use page builders that you can use to build your WordPress custom theme header, footers, etc.
This plugin has a growing library with about 200+ WordPress pre-built themes, templates, etc.; you do not even require to know any coding knowledge to use it.
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404 Page Plugin
Last but not least is the 404 Page Plugin used to build custom 404 pages, though it does not offer redirection. But, as you know, 404 error pages are usually dull and look boring, so the 404 Page Plugin allows selecting a page from your WordPress website and using it as a 404 page, or you can use it to improve the 404 templates file.
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Wrapping Up!
So, in WordPress, you can use plugins to fix each redirection error rather than addressing each issue one by one. Even without any technical expertise, you may use these plugins to improve your website’s user experience and optimize your search engine ranking by redirecting broken links to related links or redirecting all 404 errors to the Homepage.
