How to make a custom "404 error" page!
Last
updated 5-31-03
A "404" is an error message you get when you follow a link to
a web-page that doesn't exist. By default this error message is a web-page
created by your web-host provider.
Did you know that you can customize this web-page? This will keep you
from losing viewers when you delete a page or mess up a link ... funneling
those "lost souls" back into your site. This is especially important for
search engines ... you don't want to lose all that SE traffic when you
move a page!
Directions
- Open a text editor (Windows notepad will do), and copy the following
onto the first line:
ErrorDocument 404 /error-page.html
Now, save the file onto your hard-drive as a text file (.txt) and name
it ".htaccess.txt". Yes, I know that is a weird file name, but
that first period is necessary. We'll rename the file after we upload
it.
- FTP to your web-site's root directory (where your homepage is located)
with a program like WS-FTP. Copy the above file into the main directory
of your site.
note: Be sure to upload in "ascii" and
not "binary" format.
- Rename ".htaccess.txt" to plain old ".htaccess"
- Finally, create a custom web-page with your html editor, name it
"error-page.html", and upload it into your root directory.
That should do it! Want to see mine in action? Just click on this link
below. You should be redirected to my own error-page (my homepage):
http://www.mightycoach.com/thispagedoesnotexist.html
Or: See all our html
tricks!
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