404 page
The page that appears when something has gone wrong. Usually because a subpage has been deleted, renamed, or moved. In the best-case scenario, you'll get a helpful explanation and a clear way back to the homepage or important content. In the worst-case scenario, you'll only get a cryptic error message. A well-designed 404 page catches the error and prevents visitors from closing the window in frustration.
In practical terms, this means that the 404 page should be designed like any other page. Navigation, a search field, and two to three links to the most important sections will attract the visitor. The server must actually send the 404 status code, not 200; otherwise, Google will mistake the error page for legitimate content and index it.
A real-world example: An online shop renames 40 product pages but doesn't implement any redirects. Over the next few weeks, around 900 visits lead to the 404 page. With just a simple error message, typically over 80 percent of these visitors leave immediately. With a search field and category links, experience shows that 30 to 40 percent stay on the page.
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