Don’t Underestimate The Power of 404 — Minneapolis, MN

When someone visits your site and takes a wrong turn, where do they end up? — On a page with indecipherable HTML mumbo jumbo? Instead of frustrating visitors with an Error 404 Page that makes them feel lost within your site, give them a clear path to get back to where the action is.

By designing your own 404 page, you can include the essential links to get visitors redirected to where you intended them to go. You can also avoid the inconsistent design that you would get without a custom page, making the user feel as though they are still within your site, even though they have wandered off the beaten path.

The same goes for search engines. If a person can get lost within your site, so can the search engine bots that scour your site for keywords to improve site visibility. Listing key navigation links on this page will help the user and/or bot get out of nowhere land and back to the pages that count.

Although it is a seemingly simple thing, a custom 404 Error Page has a big impact. It is often overlooked, because in essence its purpose is not to be viewed, but it can help you in more ways than one. It eliminates confusion, helps to maintain brand standards, and is a good SEO practice. Graybow.Olson’s new site implements a great example of an effective and creative 404 page — click here to take a look.