Guide · Updated October 2026

What Is a 404 Page and How Do I Fix 404 Errors on My Website?

A 404 error means a page cannot be found. Learn why 404s happen, whether they hurt your SEO, how to find broken links and how to fix them properly.

Short answer: A 404 error means someone asked for a page on your site that does not exist. A few are normal, but 404s on pages people actually visit lose you customers. Fix them by redirecting old addresses to the right page, correcting broken links, and having a helpful custom 404 page as a safety net.

What a 404 actually means

Every time a browser requests a page, the server replies with a status code. 200 means "here it is". 404 means "not found". The server is working fine; it just has nothing at that address. That is different from a 500 error, which means the server itself has a problem.

The common causes

You renamed or deleted a page: /our-services became /services and nobody set up a redirect.
A redesign changed your URL structure: this is the big one, and it can wipe out years of search traffic overnight.
Typos in links: in your menu, in a blog post, or in a link another site gave you.
Old printed material: a flyer or van sign pointing to a page that no longer exists.
Visitors mistyping: nothing you can prevent, but a good 404 page catches them.

Do 404 errors hurt SEO?

Not in the way people fear. Google has said plainly that 404s on pages that genuinely should not exist are normal and do not harm your site overall. The real damage is narrower but serious:

If a page that used to rank now returns 404, it drops out of Google and the traffic goes with it.
If other websites linked to that page, the value of those links is wasted.
Visitors who hit a dead end often leave and go to a competitor.

So the goal is not zero 404s. It is zero 404s on addresses that people or search engines still use.

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How to find your 404s

Google Search Console

The free Pages report lists addresses Google tried to crawl and could not find. Focus on ones that used to get impressions or that other sites link to.

A crawler

Desktop crawling tools follow every link on your site and report which ones lead nowhere. Many have a free tier that is plenty for a small business site.

Your analytics

If your 404 page has a distinct title, you can see in analytics how many people land on it and which addresses they were trying to reach.

How to fix them

Page moved: add a 301 redirect from the old address to the new one. This passes visitors and most search value across.
Page deleted with a close replacement: redirect to the most relevant alternative, not just the homepage.
Page deleted with no replacement: let it 404 (or return 410, "gone"). That is honest and fine.
Broken internal link: edit the link at its source so it points to the right page.

Avoid redirecting every missing page to your homepage. Google often treats that as a "soft 404" anyway, and visitors find it confusing.

Make your 404 page useful

A custom 404 page turns a dead end into a detour. Keep your normal header and menu, say clearly that the page could not be found, and offer the next step: links to your main services, a search box, your phone number and a contact button. Make sure it still returns a real 404 status code, not a 200, or search engines get confused.

If your site has a lot of broken pages after a redesign or a platform move, our Website Rescue service can map old addresses to new ones and set up the redirects for you.

The bottom line

404s are a normal part of any website, but the ones on pages people still visit cost you leads. Check Search Console every month or two, redirect moved pages with 301s, fix broken internal links, and give lost visitors a friendly page that points them somewhere useful.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 404 error bad for my website?

A few 404s for pages that genuinely no longer exist are normal and do not harm your site. The problem is 404s on pages that used to rank or that people still link to, because that traffic is lost.

Should I redirect all 404s to my homepage?

No. Redirect each old page to its closest relevant replacement. Mass redirects to the homepage confuse visitors and Google may treat them as soft 404s.

How do I find broken links on my site?

Use the Pages report in Google Search Console and a free website crawler tool. Both list addresses that return 404 so you can fix or redirect them.

What should a custom 404 page include?

Your usual header and menu, a clear message, links to your main pages, a search box and your contact details, while still returning a genuine 404 status code.

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