Pages and the menu
Set up the 404 page
What visitors see at a wrong address, and how to make it useful.
- 2 minute read
- 2 interactive walkthroughs
- For everyone editing a site
The page for wrong addresses#
When someone asks for an address that does not exist, for example an old link or a typo, they are shown the 404 page. Every site gets a plain one on day one; you can edit it like any other page, or choose an existing page to serve the role.
A good 404 page does two things: says plainly that the page is not here, and offers the way on, usually the menu, a search or links to the most useful pages. It is also a small signal of reliability; a broken-looking 404 undermines an otherwise tidy site.
Pages nest by their address, grouped by language. Drag a page to change its order in the navigation.
Step 1 of 2
One button, one page
Edit the 404 page opens it like any other page. Every site gets a plain one on day one.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
- 1Open the 404 page from the Pages tab, or create it if missing.
- 2Make sure the header and footer are doing their usual work.
- 3Add one clear route onward.
Using an existing page#
On any page except the home page, Page details has a switch: Use as the 404 page. Switching it makes that page the one visitors see at a wrong address, wherever they were trying to go, and takes it out of the menu and search.
Only one page holds the role at a time, so setting a new one releases the old page back to being an ordinary page.
Nothing selected
Click anything on the page to change it. With nothing selected, these settings belong to the whole page.
Page details
Step 1 of 2
The switch
Use as the 404 page makes this page the one served at wrong addresses, and releases the old one.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
Before you continue: Check the page is not also linked from the menu before you repurpose it, or you will lose a page you meant to keep.
What search engines do#
A 404 page is not offered to search engines, and pages served as 404 are hidden from search automatically. If an address that once existed should now lead somewhere, a redirect is the right tool instead, so nobody sees the 404 at all.
Good to know: The 404 page does not affect the site health otherwise. Occasional 404s are normal, links age and typos happen.
Common questions
Can different languages have their own 404?
The site has one 404 page per language, offered automatically to the matching visitor where it exists.
Related guides
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