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It is impossible not to encounter 404 errors in your browsing. This error is an HTTP status code that indicates that the requested page cannot be found on a site’s server. There are two reasons for seeing this message:

If you are a web surfer, you have encountered this error, which is probably one of the worst errors you will encounter. The 404 page indicates that the requested page cannot be found!

There is a problem with the hosting service.
There is an error in the configuration settings of the domain name system

Viewing this error from the side of your site users is not very desirable and causes it to harm the user experience. Of course, this issue can harm SEO. The presence of this page prevents robots and search engine crawlers from entering your site.

Since this is a client-side issue, site owners can easily fix it. If you have encountered this problem and are looking for a solution, do not miss this article and stay with us until the end.

What is a 404 error?

We said that this error is a problem from the client side, and it shows that the address the user is looking for is not found on the server. There can be many reasons for this. For example, the domain is not displayed correctly, the htaccess file is broken, or the file permissions are not configured correctly.

What causes the 404 error?

When you see the error 404 error not found, it means that the browser has connected and sent your request to the web server, but the other party is unable to find the requested resource, So the result is that the browser cannot load the web page and you get a 404 error message.

But it is better to take a look at the causes of these events:
The page has been transferred and deleted

Sometimes the content of the pages may be removed or moved without solving the problem of the broken link.

Wrong URL

Sometimes the reason for seeing a 404 error is that you entered the wrong address. If you use the wrong URL to view a page, there is a 99% chance of encountering this error! In that remaining 1%, you may be redirected to another page.
DNS settings problem

This problem arises when the domain and DNS belong to the site being launched.
cache problems

The browser’s cache may have saved the 404 error page instead of the actual content, and that’s why it’s showing you an error when the site is showing up fine for others.
Lost and Lost Assets

A 404 error is displayed when important data and assets, such as photos, JavaScript files, CSS, etc., are lost or destroyed.

The point that you should pay attention to is that this error may occur in different browsers; depending on which browser you use, the error code will be different. In the following, we will check this error in different browsers.
Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox will display a Not Found 404 message and a brief and helpful explanation stating that the resource you requested could not be found on this server!
Google Chrome

The message in the Chrome browser regarding the 404 error indicates a descriptive message below the HTTP status code.
Opera browser

If you use the Opera browser, when faced with 404 pages, this browser will show a series of status page descriptions at the top of the page.
Microsoft Edge

Error 404 in Microsoft Edge

The HTTP 400 error message in Microsoft displays the following: The requested URL is invalid.

Microsoft Edge displays an HTTP 400 error message with the description, “The requested URL is invalid.”

Many sites show a 404 error, but this explanation is not enough and only helps users to understand that the site is working, but the page they are looking for cannot be found.

Methods to fix the 404 error

To fix the 404 error, we need simple and fast solutions, so we recommend that you try the following before trying other methods.

Reload the page

One of the reasons for displaying a 404 error is that the page did not load correctly. You can solve this problem by clicking Refresh or using the F5 button.

Check the URL

Regardless of whether you entered the page address correctly or were directed to a page from a link, there is a possibility of a mistake. You need to check the designated path of the site. Of course, this mistake is not always on your part, but the person who entered the link may have typed a letter incorrectly, and there is a spelling mistake.

(Of course, keep in mind that in the case of clean links, you can do this check, if the link is unclear and unreadable, you will not be able to find the error of the link.)

Scroll back through the directory levels

Imagine you have an address with this structure: example.com/Directory1/Directory2/Directory3. You can return to the previous directory level if this URL gives us a 404 error page. That is, go back to directory two instead of directory 3.

To check if the page you are looking for is linked in the previous directory, you need to remove the last directory from the URL. The link to the page you are looking for should usually be visible on the previous page.

Use the search section of the site itself.

On many sites, there is a search section where you can enter one or more words of the keyword you want to be directed to the page you want.

Get help from Google itself or other search engines

You can find the site domain or rewrite the keyword you want, the page you want.

Delete cache and cookies

If you can access the desired page from another device, but not from your system, you can easily guess that the problem is with your browser. To fix this problem, we recommend you delete the browser cache and cookies to access the page.

Use Incognito browser mode.

If you don’t want to delete the browser cache and cookies, use your browser’s Incognito mode.
Contact the site you want

If access to the target page is very important to you and you did not get any results from the methods we mentioned, you can contact the site manager and ask them for guidance regarding your target page. If the page has moved to a new address, then you have done the site operator a big favor; Because by introducing an address redirection, they correct the 404 error to automatically transfer users from the old web page to the new page.

If a page of your site has a 404 error, read on.

It is better to use the following methods to fix the 404 error on your site.

Check external links regularly.

Before doing anything else, make sure that there are no broken links on your site.

Handle 404 errors continuously.

Use Search Console and scan dead-end pages to find and fix the problem!

If you see that the 404 error still occurs, then it is likely that your site has a serious problem.
Make sure the domain is active on the host.

If your domain is new, if a 404 error occurs, then you need to wait for the domain activation process to complete. It usually takes 24 hours to resolve DNS issues.

Of course, another cause that can be considered for this error is incorrect DNS settings. You may have set the domain to the wrong server or IP address through the A record. To fix this error, you must fully check whether the domain is entered correctly or not.

To connect the domain to the host, there are two methods: one is to use nameservers, and the other is to use the IP address with the help of an A record.

There are many online tools that you can use to check which DNS server your domain is pointing to. These tools include the following:

• DNS Checker
• DNSMap
• whatsmydns.net

Modify file permissions

One of the solutions that can be effective in fixing the 404 error is to try modifying the file permissions. When you use web hosting. The server manages your files and makes them available to the browser to load the site.

File and folder permissions allow the server to know who can execute, read, or edit the data contained in the hosting account. Note that if the values are configured incorrectly, then there is a possibility that you will encounter a 404 error, and therefore you will need to change the file permissions completely.

.

You need to check the box and run to confirm that you want to set file permissions to default.

If you want to set file permissions to specific values, go to the File Manager section.

If you want to change a file or folder, right-click on it and select Permissions.

To succeed in changing the permissions, you must check the boxes and then select the permissions so that the values are not updated automatically.

To save the changes and apply the changes, click on the Change option.

After you have done these steps, the 404 error should usually be fixed; But if you still face this problem, try the following steps:

htaccess files. disable the

A directory-level configuration file called .htaccess or Hypertext Access manages tasks such as changing URL paths, controlling access and site security, etc.

It is better to know that .htaccess is placed inside a folder called public_html, and other vital data is also inside this folder. Of course, reasons such as incompatible plugins and wrong configuration can cause this file to be damaged, which is enough to spoil the appearance of our site and cause a 404 error. To eliminate this problem, you need to disable .htaccess and replace it with a new one.

Restore the backup file

404 error occurs when site users come from backlinks created on other sites, and this issue can cause them to be redirected to deleted pages. To solve this problem, you need to restore the backup of the site.

Of course, this only applies to pages where only some of the site’s pages have been damaged, and you have encountered a 404 error.
Changing the address through the content management system

You can manage broken links in your own CMS. If you are also using WordStream’s Drupal CMS, enter the Site section from the Administration section, select the URL redirects option, and click on Add redirect.

Replace old and new addresses instead of from and to. Select 301 Moved Permanently from the Redirect Type list and clicked Create new redirect. Change the address easily.
How to change the address through Yoast SEO Premium?

Yoast plugin also has a paid version; in this paid version, you will come across a section called Redirection, which allows you to replace new links with links that are out of reach. It is interesting that this section has a function that causes the previous link to be transferred to the new one.

Change the address of the pages with the help of the Redirection plugin

Redirection Plugin is a free plugin that allows you to transfer your old addresses and addresses that have disappeared to new addresses. You need to install and activate this plugin in the first step. After this, you must go to Redirection through Tools and replace the new address with the old one in the URL field.

Introducing the best plugin for 404 error

Whether you create a custom 404 page or set up a proper redirect, you need to use a plugin that does it for you in a breeze. Here we introduce these plugins to you:
Using the Beaver Builder plugin

This Beaver Builder plugin is one of the most popular plugins and has a built-in 404 error page template. This 404 error page template has a main title, subtitle, text, and CTA button, and you can customize the information on the page.

Using the Divi Builder plugin

The Divi Builder plugin has a 404-page template that is fully customizable for error settings that you can use to engage users and reduce bounce rates.

To make changes to the 404-page template, you can use the Divi page builder to customize things like color, background, spacing, color, etc., your 404 error page, and even things like the form. Add blog subscriptions and CTA buttons.

Astra template

Astra is one of WordPress’s light and fast themes that can provide a 404 error page template and replace the default content of the 404 error page completely automatically.

To use the 404 error page template, you must install the Astra Pro Add-On plugin on your WordPress site and then activate it. You can configure this template from the WordPress admin section, and custom layouts will be available.

conclusion

As we said, the 404 error is an HTTP status code error that indicates the page you are looking for does not exist. If you encounter this error, you can use all the methods mentioned here and solve this problem.

If you have used other methods, share with us in the comments section and if you have any other questions, ask us to answer as soon as possible.