Error 404 is a reasonably common issue that happens when you visit a website or webpage that can't be found. It means that the page you're looking for no longer exists or has been moved. Error 404 is also known as a broken link.
The following fixes are for your own WordPress website. If you find this happening on someone else's website, you could send them an email with the link that causes the error 404.
Every page on your website gives the error 404
If you have access to the back end of your WordPress websites, check the Permalink Settings by logging into your website. From the WordPress Dashboard and click on Settings > Permalinks. Check the Permalink structure is set to the correct format. Save the settings. Just saving the settings can clear the error 404. Go to the front end of your website to check whether the error 404 is still happening.
Only a few web pages are giving the error 404
You likely moved or deleted pages on your website. If you're familiar with Google Search Console, you can use that to show your error 404 or a plugin such as Broken Link Checker. Beware that a broken link checker plugin that runs constantly can slow down your website.
If you want to avoid using a plugin, check for broken links using an online source such as https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/. Enter your website URL to search up to 3000 web pages for broken links. This checker will show you the URL of the webpage where the broken occurs and also the source code.
Broken link checkers are helpful because they can let you know about broken links that you don't know about. For example, I found two broken links when I ran it on my website for this article. Yes, broken links I didn't know about. One was a telephone number I had set up incorrectly, and the other was an external link to a website that had been deleted. I corrected the phone number link and removed the other link.
Redirecting content
Sometimes we can rename pages or posts or move them from one category to another. This can change the URL to cause an error 404 on the old version of the content. To stop these moves causing an issue you can install a redirect plugin.
Using a plugin such as Redirection is good for several reasons:
- It reminds you to create a redirection if you change the URL of some content
- You can use the error 404 logs to check if any 404 errors are happening on your website
- It keeps a list of all the redirects, so you know what pages are being redirected
Summary
The error 404 means that content been deleted or moved from a website. There are some quick ways to fix error 404 if it happens on your WordPress website. If you're stuck, feel free to contact me for WordPress support.