Wording

404 page examples

A 404 page has two sentences to do its job. These headings and messages come from designs in this collection, grouped by what they get right. Each one links to a page where you can change the words and copy the code.

Say what happened

Visitors first need to know that the page is missing, and if you know it, why: moved, removed or mistyped. A plain sentence does this better than an error code.

Not this way.
The page at this address was moved or never existed. The homepage is one link away.
A little detour, Minimal
Your page could not be delivered.
We tried to deliver the page you requested, but the address could not be found. Check it for typos, or return to the inbox.
Undelivered message, SaaS
The link broke here.
This page has moved or the link is incomplete. Get back to your starting point.
Disconnected, SaaS

Do not blame the visitor

Most 404s come from old links, not typing mistakes. The best messages take the fault on the site, or on the link, and move on.

This page missed the memo.
Nobody told this page the address changed. The homepage got the memo.
Pink slip, Playful
You took the scenic route.
The link you followed is broken. Here’s the road back to the homepage.
Wrong turn, Playful
A soft landing for a wrong link.
We couldn’t load this address. Everything else on the site is working.
Soft landing, SaaS

Offer a way forward

A link home is the minimum. Search, a few likely pages or a way to report the broken link keep the visitor on the site.

Route not found. Recalculating.
The road to this page is closed. Three routes still lead somewhere on this site.
Recalculating, Illustrated
No results for this address.
Nothing on this site matches the link you followed. The closest pages are listed below.
Did you mean, Editorial
Where were you trying to go?
This address is missing. Search the site index for another destination.
Find your way, SaaS
Search for anything except this page.
Try the site search, or press I’m feeling lucky for a random page that exists.
Search home, Minimal

Sound like the site around it

A shop, a dashboard and an API do not speak the same way. Borrowing the words of the product makes the page feel like part of it.

This shelf is empty.
That product page is gone, or it moved. The rest of the shop is still open.
Empty bag, E-commerce
This step isn’t in the workflow.
The page is unavailable. Your dashboard and other pages are unaffected.
System pause, SaaS
The endpoint does not exist.
Your request was understood, but this resource could not be found. Try the root endpoint instead.
Endpoint not found, Developer
This station does not exist.
The line ends here. Transfer to the home line to continue.
Missing station, Illustrated

Funny 404 page examples

Humour works when it is about the situation and still says where to go next. These keep the joke short and the exit visible.

Your ad could be here.
Page not found. Ad space found.
Premium empty space, Playful
Everything is under control.
Except this page. This page is definitely gone.
Perfectly fine, Playful
Nothing here. Not even leftovers.
We checked every shelf. The page you wanted is not in the fridge.
Midnight snack, Playful
Your page is in another castle.
This gate leads nowhere today. The first castle, the homepage, is still standing.
Another castle, Retro
This is not my planet.
One wrong turn at the asteroid belt and now we are both lost. The only planet I know is the homepage.
Wrong galaxy, Sci-fi
It isn’t here. That part won’t change.
Regenerate as often as you like. The wording changes. The page stays missing.
Regenerate response, Dark

Bad 404 page examples

These patterns turn up on many sites. None of them is in this collection, and the reason is next to each one.

Oops! Something went wrong.It does not say that a page is missing, and it reads like a server error, so visitors reload instead of moving on.
404A number on its own means nothing to most people. Keep the code small and put a sentence next to it.
A single “Go home” buttonIt throws away what the visitor came for. Add search or a few likely pages next to the home link.
Every missing URL redirects to the homepageThe visitor never learns the page is gone, and Google treats mass redirects to the homepage as soft 404s.
A friendly error page sent with status 200Search engines can index it as a real page. The page should look friendly and still answer with 404.

Write your own 404 message

Keep the heading short and let it say that the page is not here.
In the message, give one detail that belongs to your site: the shop, the docs, the timetable.
Link to the homepage and to one more place: search, popular pages or a way to report the link.
Match the tone of the rest of the site, then read it aloud.

These principles follow the Nielsen Norman Group advice on 404 error messages. For finished concepts, browse 404 page ideas; to put a page live, read how to make a custom 404 page.

A good 404 page apologizes.
No404 finds the page they wanted.

No404 matches each broken URL to the closest live page in your sitemap and sends the visitor there. It also lists the broken links that still get visits and whether they came from an ad or from Google.
Works as a WordPress plugin, Laravel and Node.js packages or a small snippet. The free plan needs no card.

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