Error 404 (Not Found) \/\/TOP\\\\
In computer network communications, the HTTP 404, 404 not found, 404, 404 error, page not found or file not found error message is a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) standard response code, to indicate that the browser was able to communicate with a given server, but the server could not find what was requested. The error may also be used when a server does not wish to disclose whether it has the requested information.[1]
Error 404 (Not Found)
The website hosting server will typically generate a "404 Not Found" web page when a user attempts to follow a broken or dead link; hence the 404 error is one of the most recognizable errors encountered on the World Wide Web.
When communicating via HTTP, a server is required to respond to a request, such as a web browser request for a web page, with a numeric response code and an optional, mandatory, or disallowed (based upon the status code) message. In code 404, the first digit indicates a client error, such as a mistyped Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The following two digits indicate the specific error encountered. HTTP's use of three-digit codes is similar to the use of such codes in earlier protocols such as FTP and NNTP. At the HTTP level, a 404 response code is followed by a human-readable "reason phrase". The HTTP specification suggests the phrase "Not Found"[1] and many web servers by default issue an HTML page that includes both the 404 code and the "Not Found" phrase.
A 404 error is often returned when pages have been moved or deleted. In the first case, it is better to employ URL mapping or URL redirection by returning a 301 Moved Permanently response, which can be configured in most server configuration files, or through URL rewriting; in the second case, a 410 Gone should be returned. Because these two options require special server configuration, most websites do not make use of them.
404 errors should not be confused with DNS errors, which appear when the given URL refers to a server name that does not exist. A 404 error indicates that the server itself was found, but that the server was not able to retrieve the requested page.
Some websites report a "not found" error by returning a standard web page with a "200 OK" response code, falsely reporting that the page loaded properly; this is known as a soft 404. The term "soft 404" was introduced in 2004 by Ziv Bar-Yossef et al.[2]
Soft 404s are problematic for automated methods of discovering whether a link is broken. Some search engines, like Yahoo and Google, use automated processes to detect soft 404s.[3] Soft 404s can occur as a result of configuration errors when using certain HTTP server software, for example with the Apache software, when an Error Document 404 (specified in a .htaccess file) is specified as an absolute path (e.g. ) rather than a relative path (/error.html).[4] This can also be done on purpose to force some browsers (like Internet Explorer) to display a customized 404 error message rather than replacing what is served with a browser-specific "friendly" error message (in Internet Explorer, this behavior is triggered when a 404 is served and the received HTML is shorter than a certain length, and can be manually disabled by the user).
Some proxy servers generate a 404 error when a 500-range error code would be more correct. If the proxy server is unable to satisfy a request for a page because of a problem with the remote host (such as hostname resolution failures or refused TCP connections), this should be described as a 5xx Internal Server Error, but might deliver a 404 instead. This can confuse programs that expect and act on specific responses, as they can no longer easily distinguish between an absent web server and a missing web page on a web server that is present.
In July 2004, the UK telecom provider BT Group deployed the Cleanfeed content blocking system, which returns a 404 error to any request for content identified as potentially illegal by the Internet Watch Foundation.[5] Other ISPs return a HTTP 403 "forbidden" error in the same circumstances.[6] The practice of employing fake 404 errors as a means to conceal censorship has also been reported in Thailand[7] and Tunisia.[8] In Tunisia, where censorship was severe before the 2011 revolution, people became aware of the nature of the fake 404 errors and created an imaginary character named "Ammar 404" who represents "the invisible censor".[9]
Web servers can typically be configured to display a customised 404 error page, including a more natural description, the parent site's branding, and sometimes a site map, a search form or 404-page widget. The protocol level phrase, which is hidden from the user, is rarely customized. Internet Explorer, however, will not display custom pages unless they are larger than 512 bytes, opting instead to display a "friendly" error page.[10] Google Chrome included similar functionality, where the 404 is replaced with alternative suggestions generated by Google algorithms, if the page is under 512 bytes in size.[11] Another problem is that if the page does not provide a favicon, and a separate custom 404-page exists, extra traffic and longer loading times will be generated on every page view.[12][13]
Many organizations use 404 error pages as an opportunity to inject humor into what may otherwise be a serious website. For example, Metro UK shows a polar bear on a skateboard, and the web development agency Left Logic has a simple drawing program.[14] During the 2015 UK general election campaign the main political parties all used their 404 pages to either take aim at political opponents or show relevant policies to potential supporters.[15] In Europe, the NotFound project, created by multiple European organizations including Missing Children Europe and Child Focus, encourages site operators to add a snippet of code to serve customized 404 error pages[16] which provide data about missing children.[17]
A number of tools exist that crawl through a website to find pages that return 404 status codes. These tools can be helpful in finding links that exist within a particular website. The limitation of these tools is that they only find links within one particular website, and ignore 404s resulting from links on other websites. As a result, these tools miss out on 83% of the 404s on websites.[19] One way around this is to find 404 errors by analyzing external links.[20]
You know the page: you click on a link, but instead of getting the site you want, an error pops up indicating that the requested page is not available. Something along the lines of '404 Not Found'. A 404 error is the standardized HTTP status code. The message is sent from the webserver of an online presence, to the web browser (usually the client) that sent the HTTP request. The browser then displays this error code.
Having a standard 404 error page is better than having none at all, although a customized page is more preferred for several reasons. On the one hand, you can be sure that visitors receive an accurate HTTP status code: for example, if the requested content is no longer present on the site, this should be conveyed with the '410 Gone' message. The visitor then knows that this content has been permanently deleted.
On the other hand, you can provide a specially-designed error page containing related links (i.e. links to your homepage or subpages where the content overlaps that which the visitor originally requested). You could even add a search function for your website. By taking these extra measures and providing incentives, you might be able to prevent visitors from leaving your site straight after seeing the 404 code.
With a creative 404 message you may even find that visitors are more forgiving. Naturally they will be disappointed at not finding content they were promised, but an original or funny 404 page could make up for it. If done properly, error pages do have some potential.
Fortunately, since it is mainly a client-side issue, it is relatively easy for website owners to fix the 404 error. This article will explain the possible causes of error 404 and show four effective methods to resolve it.
If the domain is still propagating, you may encounter a 404 error page. To solve it, you will need to wait until the propagation is complete. Usually, it takes a maximum of 24 hours until the DNS resolves.
Additionally, the 404 error can be caused by misconfigured DNS settings. You may have pointed the domain to an incorrect nameserver or a wrong IP address through an A record. Therefore, you need to check if the domain is pointed correctly to solve this issue.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) defines the error\u00a0404 Not Found\u00a0as:\nThe 404 (Not Found) status code indicates that the origin server did not find a current representation for the target resource or is not willing to disclose that one exists.\u00a0A 404 status code does not indicate whether this lack of representation is temporary or permanent; the\u00a0410 (Gone) status code\u00a0is preferred over 404 if the origin server knows, presumably through some configurable means, that the condition is likely to be permanent.\n"},"name":"What is the Error 404 Not Found?","@type":"Question"},"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"Basically, it means that the client (your, or your visitor\u2019s, web browser) was able to successfully connect to the host (your website\u2019s server), but it was unable to find the actual resource that was requested (e.g. a specific\u00a0URL\u00a0or filename).\nFor example, if someone tries to access\u00a0yoursite.com\/post-name\u00a0but you don\u2019t have any content with the slug\u00a0post-name.\u00a0The visitor will then see a 404 error because, even though your web server is functioning normally, the resource that was requested doesn\u2019t exist.\n","name":"What Does Error 404 Not Found Actually Mean?","@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"If you see this error on all of your site\u2019s content, it\u2019s typically due to an issue with your site\u2019s\u00a0permalinks. If you only see it on individual pieces of content, though, it\u2019s most likely because you changed a piece of content\u2019s slug without setting up a redirect.\n","name":"What Causes Error 404 Not Found?","@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"Below, we\u2019ll cover a couple different methods for how to fix the Error 404 Not Found message, depending on whether it\u2019s happening sitewide or to specific content.\n\n\nUpdate Your Site\u2019s Permalinks\nSet Up 301 Redirects For Moved or Renamed Content\n\n\n","name":"How to Fix Error 404 Not Found?","@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"To provide a more user-friendly error page, you can use one of the many 404 page plugins. For example, the free\u00a0404page plugin\u00a0lets you set up a custom 404 error page with:\n\nA search box\nImportant links\nContact information\n\n","name":"How to Create Your Own Error 404 Not Found Page?","@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"Going forward, it can be beneficial to pay attention to which requests are causing 404 errors at your site. This can help you:\n\nFind broken links\u00a0that are sending people to a non-existent resource (these could be internal links or external links from other sites). You\u2019d then want to do your best to fix those links if at all possible.\nSee which pages Google is having trouble crawling. You\u2019d then want to figure out why Google is trying to crawl a non-existent page and set up a redirect if needed.\nTroubleshoot performance related issues with 404 errors.\n\n","name":"How to Monitor 404 Errors Going Forward?","@type":"Question"]}]li code,p code,.wp-block-code,.wp-block-kinsta-notice,.wp-block-kinsta-table-of-contents,.share-staticbackground-color: #f3f3f6;.related-posts background-color: #fafafa;li code,p code border-color: #f3f3f6; Skip to content Deploy your app quickly and scale as you grow with our Hobby Tier 041b061a72