Have you ever tried visiting a page you know and received “404 Page not found” error message instead of accessing the site? Well the 404 page not found error is common,but you should not panic.
In this article,we will help you understand this error,and show you how to fix it with ease.
If we miss anything – or you have other questions,here’s how to contact us: -
What Is A 404 Page Not Found Error?
The common name for 404 pages not found error is “404 error”. It means the page you want to access was unavailable on the server.
However,this issue arises from the client-side (site) and not the server. It means there was either deletion or relocation of the page.
A 404 page not found error is an HTTP response status code that shows the requested resource was unavailable on their server. For clarity,the 404 error shows that the server itself is reachable,but that particular page is not.
How To Identify 404 Errors On Your Website?
If you own a website,it is good you prevent HTTP 404 pages. These include both internal and external 404 error pages. You can do so using free tools for locating broken links with ease. Here are the best tools to do so:
– W3C Link Checker
An online tool named after its owner World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In addition,this tool gives deep details in terms of testing personal web pages. Therefore,the process takes time to validate links compared to other sites. All you need to do is to enter your URL and it does its work.
– Dead Link Checker
Dead Link Checker is among the easiest and quickest tools for locating both internal and external linked 404 pages. Similar to W3C Link Checker,this tool requires you to type the URL of the website you want to examine,and then click the check button.
This tool gives you the option of checking either the entire site or a single web page. In addition,it lists all traced error pages alongside the URL and status codes.
– Google Search Console
Formerly,this tool was known as Google Webmaster Tools. Moreover,you can use this tool if you have a Google account,and a registered website. It displays any 404 errors that the Google crawler finds. In addition,it marks them as corrected once they are fixed.
The extra functions allow you to locate errors in robots.txt files,and to use crawling statistics to determine how often Google crawlers crawled your website.
What Are The Causes Of A 404 Error?
- – Deletion or relocation of the URL or content of the Page without modification of internal links.
- – The server shut down or malfunctioned.
- – A misspelled URL.
- – During the creation or redesign process of the URL,the writing or linking was incorrect.
- – That domain name no longer exists.
How To Fix The 404 Page Not Found Error?
Here are quick and direct techniques to apply whenever you face a 404 error message. Besides that,these techniques do not need loads of technical knowledge.
1. Refresh / Reload the page
The first approach to fix this error is to retry the page. To do so,press the F5 function button on your PC. In addition,you can click the refresh/reload button in your browser. The 404 error could be because of a page that failed to load properly.
2. Double-check the URL
In most cases,the 404 not found error results from typing an incorrect URL. Irrespective of whether you manually typed the URL address or a redirect link,a mistake might have happened. Therefore,you should double-examine the specified website path.
For example,you or the person who typed the link may have mistyped something. Besides that,the forward slashes may have been misplaced or left out.
3. Navigate back homepage via directory levels
To find an issue that causes 404 error in your URL,move back to the homepage through directory levels. For example,if the error was from a URL www.web.com/a/b/c,move from one level to the other.
To do so,remove the last directory in that URL. i.e. www.web.com/a/b/. If the error is not on that level,proceed. This way,you will find the page or confirm its unavailability.
4. Delete cookies and clear the browser cache
Are you able to access the desired website from another device,but you receive the 404 error on a particular computer? If so,then the issue could be in your browser. Thus,you need to clear your browser cache and cookies for that website. In turn,you may access the page.
Cookies are small pieces of information which map out where you visited on any website,where you spent most time,what you like there and others. On the contrary,a cache is all about speed. Thus,clearing cookies removes old information,while the cache increases your loading time. Moreover,clearing your browser cache may enhance your internet speed.
5. Perform a search using any search engine
Sometimes,it is possible you have a completely wrong URL,this can be the reason for an 404 error. For this reason,it is advisable to perform a quick Bing or Google search to access the desired page. In any case you find the web page you wanted,go ahead and bookmark it to avoid 404 error in the future.
6. Contact the website
This approach is ideal if the other methods fail. In fact,you will know if the 404 error is legitimate,if the company tells you they removed that page. On the other hand,you will help them fix the error if they moved the page but it is not redirecting visitors to their new page. To contact the operators of that site,use the “Contact Us” page.
Can A 404 Page Not Found Error Affect The Ranking And Reputation Of A Site?
Furthermore,dead links affect the rankings of a website. Indeed,Google can lower its ranks in the SERPs or stop its indexing due to many 404 error pages. In turn,the number of visitors to that website decreases.
The trust of visitors gets lost if a website has a dead landing page or many broken links. In fact,if this problem occurs often,most users will avoid the site.
Summary
If you have any question,comment,or suggestions on how to fix a 404 error page not found,click the link to contact us. -