How to Fix Error 404 Not Found on Your WordPress Site

Aug 14, 2023

How to Fix Error 404 Not Found on Your WordPress Site

The 404 Not Found error is very common, which doesn’t make it any less frustrating 😫. Tune in to learn exactly how to troubleshoot it. 👉Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/Kinsta?sub_…

The 404 Not Found error is an HTTP standard response code, that indicates that the browser was able to communicate with a server, but the server could not find what was requested. The error might also occur when a server doesn’t want to disclose whether it has the requested information.

Although the Error 404 Not Found is one of the tamer ones, it doesn’t mean your users won’t be frustrated if they keep running into this error message while trying to access your pages. That’s the last thing you want first-time potential customers seeing from your brand. A 404 error can also be an indicator to you that something has changed or moved and a 301 redirect probably needs to be added to retain SEO value.

In this video, we’ll explain what’s behind the error 404 Not Found and help you troubleshoot it so you can get your website up and running again!

ℹ️ About Kinsta

Kinsta is an award-winning Cloud Platform designed to host and manage your WordPress sites, Applications, and Databases faster and more efficiently. Trusted by 25,000+ companies worldwide, from developers, startups, and agencies, to multinational brands, we guarantee lighting-fast performance, enterprise-level security, ease of use, and exceptional support.

🚀 Try our flagship Managed WordPress Hosting plans and get $240/month worth of premium features included in every plan. That’s free unlimited migrations, 20% faster load times thanks to Google’s fastest servers and Premium Tier network backed by Cloudflare’s 275+ CDN locations worldwide, and 24/7/365 multilingual technical support from humans in less than 2 minutes.

👉 Try risk-free with our 30-day money-back guarantee Powerful Managed WordPress Hosting

👤Follow us:
► https://kinsta.com/blog/
► https://kinsta.com/newsletter/
► https://twitter.com/kinsta
► https://instagram.com/kinstahosting
► https://facebook.com/kinstahosting

💡Discover all of our hosting solutions ► https://kinsta.com/

🕘Timestamps

0:00 How to Fix Error 404 Not Found on Your WordPress Site
0:47 What is the Error 404 Not Found?
1:32 What Does Error 404 Not Found Actually Mean?
2:16 What Causes Error 404 Not Found on WordPress?
3:04 Error 404 Not Found Variations
4:17 Error 404 Not Found Impact on SEO
4:57 Error 404 Not Found Impact on Site Performance
6:23 How to Fix Error 404 Not Found on WordPress
9:02 How to Create Your Own Error 404 Not Found Page
9:58 How to Monitor 404 Errors Going Forward

📚Resources

📙 Full Guide on How to Fix Error 404 Not Found on Your WordPress site
► https://kinsta.com/blog/error-404-not…

📙 A Complete Guide and List of HTTP Status Codes
► https://kinsta.com/blog/http-status-c…

📙 The Ultimate Guide to Fixing and Troubleshooting the Most Common WordPress Errors
► https://kinsta.com/blog/wordpress-err…

#Error404 #404 #404NotFound

Content

0.25 -> Hello, I'm Maria.

1.44 -> And today we will go over how to fix

3.26 -> the error 404 not found on your WordsPress site.

6.48 -> (upbeat music)

12.388 -> Of the many potential errors

13.75 -> You might see on your WordPress site.

15.56 -> Error 404, not found is one of the tamer ones

19 -> but that doesn't mean it isn't frustrating when you

21.33 -> or your visitors try to browse your site

23.33 -> and keep running into the error 404, not found message.

27.19 -> That's the last thing you want

28.5 -> first time potential customers seeing from your brand.

31.29 -> Before we get too far,

32.66 -> I wanna let you know that there will be links

34.33 -> to more resources in the videos description.

36.64 -> And remember, subscribe and ring that bell

38.94 -> to get notifications for future helpful content.

41.77 -> All right, let's get started.

46.43 -> Whenever you or one of your visitors visit your website,

49.4 -> your browser sends a request to the web server

51.67 -> and receives back data

52.93 -> including something called an HTTP header.

56.44 -> The HTTP header

57.9 -> includes HTTP status codes

60.35 -> to explain what happened with their request.

62.81 -> Most of the time, the request works perfectly

65.57 -> and you never actually see the HTTP status code

68.8 -> unless you go looking.

69.9 -> But if something goes wrong

71.4 -> your web browser will usually display a message

74.22 -> with the HTTP status code to indicate the exact problem.

78.17 -> Just like other error messages,

80.23 -> 500 error,

81.35 -> 502 error,

82.87 -> 504 error, et cetera.

84.96 -> The error 404 not found message

87.01 -> is the result of that process.

91.42 -> Basically it means

92.36 -> that the client was able to successfully connect

94.44 -> to the host, your website server,

96.71 -> but it was unable to find the actual resource

99.13 -> that was requested.

100.61 -> Example, a specific URL or file name.

103.34 -> For example

104.48 -> if someone tries to access your site.com/postname

108.81 -> but you don't have any content with the slug post name

112.28 -> the visitor will then see a 404 error

114.74 -> because even though your web server is functioning normally

117.68 -> the resource that was requested doesn't exist.

120.72 -> It's not just posts or pages either.

122.93 -> Any asset missing can generate a 404 error on the server,

126.64 -> such as a missing image file,

128.37 -> missing JavaScript, missing CSS, et cetera.

134.67 -> If you see this error on all of your sites, content,

137.31 -> it's typically due to an issue

138.86 -> with your WordPress sites, permalinks.

141.62 -> If you only see it on an individual piece of content though,

145.05 -> it's most likely because you changed a piece of contents,

147.92 -> slug without setting up a redirect.

150.67 -> Additionally, the 404 error isn't a bad thing.

153.8 -> It's only bad when it's interfering with usability.

156.63 -> And sometimes things are just out of your control.

159.3 -> For example,

160.4 -> sometimes a person might just type the wrong URL

163.15 -> into their address bar.

164.96 -> In that case, they'll see a 404 error

167.36 -> but there's no actual problem

168.89 -> with how your site is configured.

171.08 -> This is actually the desired response

173.04 -> and you can create your own custom 404 page

175.3 -> to help get visitors to the right spot.

177.56 -> We'll show you how to later on.

182.87 -> Because different browsers

184.06 -> display error messages differently,

186.21 -> you might see a different message

188.04 -> for this error.

189.6 -> Other common variations include error 404,

194.31 -> 404 not found,

196.75 -> HTTP error 404,

199.79 -> not found,

201.77 -> page not found,

203.78 -> the requested URL was not found

205.98 -> on the server.

207.74 -> The page cannot be found.

210.22 -> We can't find the page you're looking for.

213.13 -> The requested URL was not found on this server.

216.87 -> That's all we know.

218.09 -> The error 404, not found message is also unique

221.42 -> in that many sites will actually create a custom page

224.34 -> to address the error.

225.44 -> Some WordPress themes also include custom 404

228.36 -> pages by default.

229.78 -> For that reason,

230.83 -> you might not actually see the error messages at all,

233.41 -> because many sites will use funny

235.34 -> or creative 404 pages instead.

237.71 -> Here's an example of our own 404 page at Kinsta.

241.28 -> We include a search box in some of our recent blog posts

244.32 -> to help visitors find what they might have

246.2 -> been looking for.

247.67 -> We recommend you always include search functionality

250.5 -> on your 404 page.

254.68 -> Error 404 not found

256.28 -> doesn't have any inherent negative impact on SEO

259.27 -> but it might have a negative impact depending on the reason

261.73 -> for why the error is happening.

263.56 -> For example, if a visitor just mistypes a URL

267.23 -> and sees a 404 error,

268.96 -> there won't be a negative impact on SEO.

271.56 -> But if you have individual errors because of broken URLs

275.75 -> that will inhibit Google's ability

277.32 -> to properly crawl your site

278.86 -> and have a negative SEO effect in that way.

281.34 -> Additionally, if a permalink issue

283.18 -> is still causing site-wide 404 errors,

285.8 -> Google won't be able to crawl any of your sites content.

288.7 -> In other words,

289.533 -> always fix your 404 errors as soon as possible.

295.63 -> Many don't realize it, but sites that generate

298.18 -> a lot of 404 errors

299.66 -> can easily run into performance issues.

302.22 -> As these responses, aren't typically cached.

305.04 -> We see this a lot on larger sites

306.82 -> and it can be a big problem,

308.17 -> if you accidentally promote or get a surge of viral traffic

311.39 -> to a 404 page.

313.27 -> To minimize the impact of 404 requests on site performance

316.84 -> we automatically cache 404 pages for 15 minutes.

320.53 -> If you create a new page with the same URL

323.12 -> as the cached page, we'll automatically purge the cache.

326.93 -> So your visitors will be able to see

328.71 -> the new page immediately.

330.78 -> This means your site will be protected

332.68 -> from PHP and CPU spikes

334.75 -> caused by traffic to dynamic 404 pages.

337.5 -> You are probably generating more 404 errors than you think.

341.38 -> Our Kinsta APM tool can help you locate the exact pages

344.84 -> returning to 404 errors.

346.94 -> You can also check 404 errors

348.89 -> in Google search console or install a third-party plugins

352.19 -> such as Redirection, which logs 404 errors.

355.36 -> However, remember that plugins like these

357.53 -> also have an impact on performance.

359.78 -> It's much better to rely on a server level tool.

363.12 -> That's why we provide these tools for all Kinsta clients.

367.06 -> The reason these errors are bad

368.63 -> is that many 404 pages are very resource intensive.

372.13 -> For large sites you'll want to avoid a heavy 404 page.

375.86 -> Create a simple 404 template

377.7 -> that avoids querying the database any further, if possible.

383.81 -> All right, let's talk about a couple of different methods

386.36 -> to fix the error 404 not found message.

389.28 -> Depending on whether it's happening site-wide

391.4 -> or to specific content.

392.75 -> If you're experiencing site-wide 404 errors

395.23 -> when trying to access content

396.73 -> the most likely cause is an issue with your permalinks

399.7 -> or your htaccess file if your host uses Apache.

402.96 -> If you're a Kinsta customer, we use NGINX.

405.66 -> So you can rule out the htaccess file as a possible cause.

409.55 -> The easiest way to fix this

410.96 -> is to update your permalink settings

412.94 -> through the WordPress dashboard.

414.85 -> All you need to do is go to settings

416.79 -> and then permalinks and click save changes.

419.7 -> You don't need to make any changes.

421.62 -> Clicking save changes is enough.

423.57 -> If you're experiencing 404 errors

425.73 -> on a specific piece of content

427.2 -> the issue is likely that you change the URL slug

430.16 -> for that content or move that piece of content manually.

433.69 -> For instance, you may have deleted the existing post

437.31 -> and pasted it into a new post.

439.41 -> Users then try to access the content at the old location

442.43 -> and see a 404 page

443.86 -> instead of the resource they were expecting.

446.35 -> The best way to fix this is to automatically redirect

449.46 -> anyone who tries to access the old location

451.63 -> to the new location.

453.59 -> That way they'll make it to the right spot

455.46 -> without any 404 errors.

457.93 -> It's also good for SEO.

459.61 -> If you move or rename a post without adding a redirect

462.32 -> you lose all the domain authority attached

464.37 -> to the backlinks pointed at that post.

467.15 -> WordPress by default

468.32 -> we'll attempt to redirect change remove content

470.8 -> but it doesn't always work

472.07 -> and you should never rely on WordPress

473.71 -> for this functionality.

474.95 -> But don't worry.

475.87 -> There are several easy ways

477.39 -> to set up redirects in WordPress.

479.49 -> First, you can use the free redirection plugin

481.94 -> to manage redirects from your WordPress dashboard.

485.13 -> Once you've installed and activated the plugin,

487.21 -> go to tools and then redirection and enter,

489.67 -> the 404 page URL in the source URL box

492.962 -> and the new location of the content in the target URL box.

497.75 -> If you're hosting with Kinsta

499.32 -> you can also manage redirects from the my Kinsta dashboard.

503.14 -> Using Kinsta's tool is actually a better way to go about it

506.21 -> as the rules are implemented at the server level,

509.36 -> which is a much more optimal way in terms of performance.

512.78 -> It also means one less third-party plugin

515.31 -> you have to worry about.

516.95 -> Go to the site you want to manage,

518.82 -> then click on the redirects tab.

520.98 -> To add a new redirect,

522.51 -> click the large add redirect rule button.

526.52 -> Finally, if your host uses the Apache server

529.39 -> you can use HT access to set up redirects.

532.37 -> The HT access generator site

534.11 -> can help you generate the proper code

535.87 -> to add to your sites HT access file.

541.892 -> while you can do your best to prevent 404 errors

544.56 -> by following these tips,

545.97 -> it's impossible to entirely eliminate 404 errors

549.38 -> because some things are just playing outside

551.36 -> of your control.

552.22 -> To provide a more user-friendly error page.

554.35 -> You can use one of the many, 404 page plugins.

557.76 -> The free 404 page plugin

559.47 -> lets you set up a custom 404 error page

561.93 -> with a search box, important links and contact information.

565.81 -> Another important feature of the 404 page plugin

569.02 -> is that it doesn't create redirects.

571.2 -> A 404 page should never be redirected to a physical page

574.8 -> such as your site.com/404.

577.89 -> The 404 errors should always be generated dynamically

580.71 -> on the page in question.

582.29 -> By including these elements,

583.54 -> you give visitors the tools that they need

585.43 -> to find their way to the right page.

587.52 -> But remember,

588.46 -> keep your 404 page light for better performance.

591.45 -> Only include what is absolutely needed.

596.57 -> Going forward,

597.403 -> it can be beneficial to pay attention

599.01 -> to which requests are causing 404 errors at your site.

602.43 -> This can help you.

603.34 -> Find broken links that are sending people

605.12 -> to a nonexistent resource.

606.81 -> These can be internal links

608.24 -> or external links from other sites.

611.26 -> You'd then want to do your best

612.65 -> to fix those links if possible.

614.95 -> See which pages Google is having trouble crawling.

618.36 -> You'd then want to figure out why Google is trying to crawl

621.02 -> a non-existent page and set up a redirect if needed.

624.37 -> Troubleshoot performance related issues with 404 errors.

628.06 -> Option one, Google Analytics.

630.63 -> If you use Google Analytics, you can set up a custom report

633.89 -> to track 404 errors from external links.

637.61 -> Option two, WordPress plugin.

640.25 -> If you want to use a WordPress plugin

642.36 -> the after mentioned Redirection plugin

644.51 -> can help you monitor for 404 errors

646.74 -> from your WordPress dashboard.

648.47 -> Option three , third-party audit tool.

650.94 -> You can also use a third-party audit tool like ahrefs

653.89 -> to monitor for 404 errors on your WordPress site.

657 -> You can even set this up to run on a schedule.

659.7 -> Option four, Google Search Console.

662.02 -> Lastly, you can track 404 errors

664.34 -> that Google's crawlers encounter in Google Search Console.

667.97 -> This is by far one of the easiest ways.

670.44 -> It's also the best in terms of performance

672.53 -> because it requires no third-party plugins

674.86 -> or additional scanning against your site.

676.74 -> Once you verified your site with Google Search Console,

679.76 -> go to coverage, then check the air details tab

683.03 -> to view a list of 404 errors that Google has encountered.

686.06 -> Google's bots are already crawling your site

688.06 -> on a regular basis.

689.57 -> So why not simply take advantage of the data

691.46 -> they already provide?

692.78 -> 404 errors are never good for visitors, your brand

695.8 -> and Google doesn't like to see them either.

699.44 -> Kista's WordPress hosting can speed up your website

701.98 -> by up to 200% and you'll get 24/7 support

705.76 -> from our expert WordPress engineers.

707.96 -> Let us show you the Kinsta difference.

710.23 -> Try a free demo of our MyKinsta dashboard

712.74 -> at demo.kinsta.com.

715.55 -> Thank you for watching.

716.93 -> Don't forget to subscribe for more tutorials, explainers

719.94 -> and helpful content like this.

721.813 -> (upbeat music)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCq5Sed-4PQ