May 26, 2015: A 404 error page is a landing page on a website that lets a user know that they have visited a broken or defunct link. Webmasters frequently choose to customize their 4o4 pages to avoid losing users that would normally just click the “back” button on their browser once they hit a dead end. If your website host supports a way to customize your 404 file (some free hosting sites don’t), adding a custom page that will help redirect users is a great idea that doesn’t take too much time to make.
The most creative 404s we’ve seen combine design, information meant to help the user, and a little bit of wit. Why should you have a custom 404 error page? First and foremost, because (unless you have no broken links at all) it’s a nice thing to do for your users. Furthermore, if you’re creative, you can do a little creative branding in this underutilized “error space.”
Check out our Slideshare gallery featuring some of our favorite 404 pages.