Status code “404” is the commonest type of HTTP error that users come across, when they browse the web. It can be very frustrating for the user, and can potentially destroy their overall browsing experience.
It can be a reason for a business to lose its customers. The 404 error is also seen to lower the rankings of a business on the search engine results page. Looking at this negative effect, it becomes very important to fix this issue, because it causes a lot of harm to your business.
What is 301 Redirect?
WP 301 Redirects is a best-quality WordPress plugin to easily redirect 404 pages. It can be used with any type of plugin and theme used in a website. This plugin helps in the creation and management of URL redirects. When you use this plugin, it actively supervises all traffic that comes to the 404 pages, and redirects them to an active or current page.
Why Do I See An Error Code 404?
Error 404 is the response generated from a standard HTTP protocol. This code is generated by the server, whenever a user tries to access a wrong or missing URL page. Your web server will send this code to tell the status of that operation.
If the browser was able to access the server, and the server finds a requested resource, and then it sends it back to the browser. However, if the server fails to find the requested resource, then it sends a 200 response code to the browser. When the browser fails to get the 200 response code in place of the requested resource from the server, then it displays an error 404 status code.
What users see on the screen is “requested information was not available at that specific address”, or the infamous ‘404 No Page Found’ error.
What can be done to fix the situation?
One way to fix the condition is to use tools that insert several URLs, and it returns you the HTTP status codes. This will help in drawing out the primary status code of the document.
Another way is to customize your website design for the 404 pages. This is done to provide a better experience to users. In comparison to a blank page, these customized pages are anytime better.
You can include a call to action on your 404 pages. Without it, the user will simply go away, after seeing a regular 404 page. Insertion of a few links to some appropriate pages will help you get more traffic to the main pages.
Simple Author Box is a remarkable tool that adds a responsive authors box for WordPress. This author box is placed at the end of the posts. It displays the name, gravatar, and description of the author. This is a vital tool for WordPress bloggers who accept content posts from guest authors. Both WP 301 redirect plugin and Simple Author Box are developed by Web Factory.
Conclusion
404 error pages can cause harm to your SEO efforts. It becomes important to fix those backlinks that return a 404 error. A 301 redirect can help in redirecting broken URLs to an appropriate location. This way, it will maximize the user experience, and flow of link equity on the website.