If you receive a 404 error message when trying to visit a website, that means the server is working but the referring link uses a nonexistent URL address.
404 errors can happen for many reasons, like the product page has been deleted or the URL structure has been changed without a redirect properly set up.
Regardless of the reason, a 404 error can ruin the customer experience and result in lost sales for an ecommerce business. It means the user is effectively stopped in their tracks and must find a way to get back on track.
This guide shares how to identify broken links on your website, and how to fix 404 errors.
What is a 404 error?
A 404 error occurs when a web browser requests a page from a website’s server, but the server can’t find a webpage associated with the requested URL. When this happens, the browser shows a status page with an HTTP 404 status code (404 Not Found) to indicate the error type.
There are multiple 4XX error codes you might encounter:
- 404 errors (Not Found) display when the page cannot be found.
- 410 errors (Gone) display when the page has been permanently deleted or removed.
- 403 errors (Forbidden) display when the page exists but access has been denied.
All 4XX errors indicate a problem accessing a page through the requested web address—not an issue with the web server hosting the page—so encountering one means your web hosting server is functioning normally. Instead, the problem has to do with the requested page or URL.
What are some causes of 404 errors?
404 errors can result from mistakes on your website or a referring website, or from user error. Here are a few causes:
- Broken URLs. If there’s a typo or other error in the URL associated with a specific link, the server returns a 404 error code because the page can’t be found.
- Changed URL structures. If you change the URL without changing the internal or external link pointing to it, users will see a 404 error.
- Deleted pages. A link pointing to a deleted page is known as a dead link. If you remove a product or category page from your website, for example, clicking a link that refers to the deleted page will generate a 404 error message.
- Client error. If a user enters a wrong URL associated with your domain into their address bar, they may see a 404 error informing them the page doesn’t exist.
- Caching issues. If data saved to a user’s browser cache after a specific site visit conflicts with updates made to the site, the user might encounter a 404 error. Clearing the cache can resolve this type of problem.
- Permalink or file issues. Problems with your site’s links, file permissions, or configuration files can result in sitewide 404 errors.
Minimize 404 errors using what’s known as a 301 redirect. For example, if you delete a product page or change the URL structure, use a redirect to send users who attempt to access the old URL to the correct location.
If it’s an external link that’s pointing toward a 404 error, contact the referring site to request a correction or set up a redirect.
Why should you fix 404 errors?
It’s important to fix 404 errors because they affect crawl efficiency, link equity, and the user experience on your website:
- SEO performance. Broken internal links can prevent important pages from being crawled and indexed, which may reduce their visibility in search results.
- Site traffic. Inbound links—or links hosted on other websites that point to your site—can boost your search engine performance and increase traffic to your site. If those links lead to a 404 error, you lose these benefits.
- Poor user experience. Encountering a 404 error can be frustrating and discourage users from exploring your website further.
Soft 404s: The silent SEO problem
A soft 404 error shows when a page that doesn’t exist returns a 200 (OK) HTTP status code. Rather than returning a 404 response code for the non-existent URL, Google flags them as a soft 404.
Google’s documentation states it’s better to show a 404 response code instead of a 200 error message, because such a message is confusing for users. Soft 404s also impact SEO: Google’s crawlers spend time indexing non-existent pages, so unique URLs might not be discovered as quickly.
Soft 404s can happen if:
- A product sells out and the page displays no results
- A product is discontinued and the page is removed from your CMS without a redirect in place
- A collection page is filtered to return zero results
- A variant URL, such as a specific size or color, is no longer available
- An internal search results page with no matching products is indexed
These issues can occur during a store migration, especially if the permalink structure is different on the new platform. Plan redirects when URLs change and fix them with a bulk redirection tool, like the one found in Shopify.
This technical SEO strategy can pay dividends, as Starlight Knitting Society discovered. It gained more than 4,400 daily Google impressions after migrating to Shopify and investing in technical SEO with Shopify Partner agency ICEE Social.
How to find 404 errors on your website
Use SEO tools to check for 404 errors and identify dead or broken links on your site. Some tools can also identify broken backlinks—links on other websites pointing to a nonexistent URL attached to your site’s domain name. Try one of these helpers:
Google Search Console
Google Search Console lets you monitor site performance and identify errors. Use it to view all URLs that generate 404 errors on your site by logging in and selecting “Indexing” and then “Pages.” Look under “Why pages aren’t indexed” for 404 errors.
To investigate a specific URL, including whether Google can crawl it and when it was last indexed, use the URL Inspection tool.
Broken Link Checker
Broken Link Checker is a free online tool that will crawl your website and identify any links that refer to bad URLs associated with your domain or another website.
Unlike Google Search Console, Broken Link Checker can’t identify broken backlinks. However, it does check for outbound broken URLs that send your readers to 404 error pages.
SEOWill - 404 Link Redirect
SEOWill is a Shopify app that checks for 404 errors in real time, then uses this information to run daily or weekly reports. Browse this report to manually fix 404 errors, or let the app auto-redirect users to a specified URL as soon as an error occurs.
Ablestar Link Manager
The Ablestar Link Manager app checks for broken links on your Shopify store at scale. It notifies you when visitors run into broken links, with email notifications to flag 404 errors if a large number of people suddenly land on one. It works with Shopify’s native redirect feature to fix errors you find.
How to fix a 404 error
- Fix broken links
- Create redirects
- Fix permalink issues
- Fix file permissions
- Disable your .htaccess file
- If you’re the visitor, try these quick fixes
The appropriate fix depends on the cause and context. Here’s how to fix different types of 404 errors:
Fix broken links
If the 404 error results from a mistyped URL, correct the URL in the back end of your content management system (CMS) or website platform. For example, if you’re linking to a product page from a blog post but have missed a character on the end of the URL, fix that in the blog article.
If the page associated with the request URL has been moved or deleted, you may instead set up a redirect as outlined in the next step.
Create redirects
If a 404 error results from moved or deleted content, set up a redirect to automatically refer users to the new location.
Shopify’s native URL redirect tool path lets you configure redirects. There’s a CSV bulk import option if you’re changing a large quantity of broken links at once—for example, if you’ve updated a collection page URL and need to adjust every link you’ve built on your site.
The type of redirection you choose depends on the context:
| Use case | Redirect to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Page can’t be found | 404 | Fixing a broken link from an external website |
| Page is permanently deleted | 410 | Deleting the page for a discontinued product |
| Page has moved permanently | 301 or 308 | Redirecting old URL to new URL during a website migration |
| Page is temporarily unavailable | 302 | Black Friday collection points to your homepage outside of the holiday season |
| Redirect after form submission | 303 | Sends a new subscriber to a subscriber-only discount code page after completing an email form |
3XX status codes are temporary; they tell search engines the original URL is still the intended canonical, so indexing signals stay with the source rather than transferring to the destination.
If you’re using a 302 to redirect a Black Friday collection page to your homepage outside of the holiday season, for example, it keeps the original collection URL indexed, ready for next year’s sale.
When configuring redirects:
- Pick the most relevant page. If a user landed on a broken link expecting a hair curling tong, for example, redirect them to your hair care category or the replacement model.
- Avoid redirect chains. Update old URLs to point directly to the final destination.
- Implement redirects at the server level. Google recommends this as the best way to divert both users and search crawlers to the correct page, rather than using JavaScript or meta refresh tags.
- Set up redirects in anticipation of user errors. For example, shopify.com/help redirects to the correct URL, help.shopify.com/en.
Fix permalink issues
A permalink (or permanent link) is a full URL for a website or web page. On Shopify, for example, yourstore.com/cart is the permalink for a customer’s shopping cart.
When multiple pages return 404 errors simultaneously, a broken permalink structure could be the cause. Installing a new plug-in, restoring your site from backup, or updating your website platform can also interfere with the permalinks on your site, causing sitewide 404 errors.
To fix it, log in to your CMS, navigate to the permalink or URL settings, and follow your platform’s documentation to refresh or resave the settings.
Fix file permissions
File permissions tell your server which users can access specific types of content. If there’s a mistake in your permission settings, users may encounter a 404 error.
To check your file permissions, log in to your CMS, navigate to file permissions, and confirm that content isn’t restricted to certain user groups. If it is, update your permission settings to fix the error.
Disable your .htaccess file
A .htaccess file is a high-level configuration file that controls redirects, security, and permissions. If your file is corrupted, you may experience sitewide 404 errors.
To fix this:
- Back up your site.
- Connect to your web server using a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP).
- Disable the .htaccess file.
- Rename the disabled file to prevent your site from connecting to it.
- Generate a new .htaccess file.
- Save your changes.
If you’re the visitor, try these quick fixes
If you’re on the receiving end of a 404 error on another brand’s website, take these steps to find your way:
- Refresh the page. The error might be temporary.
- Clear your cache. Your browser may be loading an outdated version of the URL.
- Check the URL. Some CMSes have standard URL structures. If you’re browsing an online store built with Shopify, for example, a product page will have /products/ in the URL. If you’ve landed on a 404 error page and the URL reads /product/, try it with an “s” on the end.
- Do a site search. Go to the homepage and use the site’s search bar to find what you’re looking for.
- Contact the website owner. Report the broken link and ask them to help.
How to customize your 404 error page on Shopify
It’s impossible to eliminate 404 errors completely. If an internet user attempts to visit your site by typing the wrong URL into a search bar, they’ll encounter an error, and there’s nothing you can do about that.
Still, you can customize your Shopify 404 error page to recover otherwise-lost visits:
- In your Shopify admin, go toOnline Store.
- Click Themes and Edit theme.
- Use the page selector to find the 404 page template.
From here, use the Shopify website builder to customize the 404 error template by adding a search bar, collection pages, or a homepage button. You can also add section-specific custom CSS. Ask Sidekick, the AI assistant built into Shopify, to help.
Usability should take priority over creativity, but Thinx shows how you can balance the two. They customized their 404 error page with a headline that adds humor to the situation: “Oops! This page is having cramps.” There are also call to action (CTA) buttons that guide users towards one of three product categories.
404 error FAQ
What does a 404 error mean?
A 404 error means your web server can’t find a specific page on your website. This type of error occurs when there’s a problem with a URL or with the page associated with that URL.
What is the difference between a 404 and a 410 error?
A 404 error means a page can’t be found but may still exist or return. A 410 error shows the page has been permanently deleted and will not come back.
Does a 404 error mean the visitor was blocked?
A 404 error doesn’t mean the visitor was blocked; it means that the original URL can’t be found. This can happen if a page moves, the URL was misspelled, or the page was deleted without a redirect in place.
Is it necessary to redirect a page that generates a 404 error?
A redirect to fix a 404 error caused by deleted or moved content ensures users attempting to access your site using the old URL don’t encounter the error. If the error results from a typo in a URL on your site or an issue with site permissions or settings, you can fix the source issue instead.
Is it possible to customize the appearance of a 404 error page?
You can customize a 404 status page using the Shopify theme editor. For example, you could direct users to your website’s search function or provide links to high-level pages that contain the requested resource.
