If you have your own domain name, you can create a custom
404 error page for your visitors. What does this do
for you? It can help you retain visitors who may leave
if they get the standard "File not found"
page. Such a page looks a little like this:
File Not Found
The requested url /notafile.htm was not found on this
server.
That isn't very appealing to a visitor, and if the
person came from another site's link- that potential
visitor may just leave. However, you can make your
404 page much more informative, and provide your visitors
with a way to navigate through your site. Instead
of a "File Not Found" and not much else,
you can send them an error page with a professional
appearance.
As an example, click the link below. This
will take you to the custom 404 page for this site:
Custom 404 Example
Notice how the page was similar to the other entry
pages on the site, with the navigation links and a
way back to the front page. This allows the visitor
to take a look around, or go to the front page where
they can see the details of what the site has to offer.
Now, the creation of the custom page itself isn't
difficult. It is just another HTML file saved with
any name you want it to have. To get your custom page
to show up on a 404 error requires a little extra
work. You will also need to be the one in charge of
your web site, and it must be under your own domain
name. You will not be able to do this otherwise, because
someone else will be in charge of the domain. If you
are unsure whether or not you have permission to do
this, be sure to ask your web host before you proceed.
To begin, go to the main directory of your web site
(where your main page is located) through FTP or Telnet.
Look for a file there named .htaccess, it begins with
the dot as though it is a long file extension. If
you have the file, you will want to edit it. If you
do not have the file, create a new text file and save
it as ".htaccess".
If you are creating the file from scratch, simply
type the following line into the file, changing the
url to the location of your custom page:
ErrorDocument 404 http://www.yoursite.com/custom_page.html
Keep it all on one line, with a space on each side
of the number 404. Also, this is case sensitive, so
be sure to check the case of the E and D in ErrorDocument
before you proceed.
If you already have the file and need to edit it,
look for a line like the one above. If it is there,
you can just change the url. You may want to ask your
web host before doing this, just in case. If you do
not have the line, add it in after everything else
on its own line.
When you are done, upload your new .htaccess file
to the server. Then, be sure to use the CHMOD command
through your FTP or telnet program to set the permissions
to CHMOD 644.
Also be sure that you have uploaded your custom page
to the server, otherwise you'll get a 500 server error
or something similar. Once that is done, you can test
your new error page by typing in a url that you know
does not exist on your server. You should get your
custom page, ready to bring in the lost visitors that
may be out there.
