404 page is one of the essential basic optimization of website optimization, with the continuous extension of the website operation time, the original web content may be deleted, but the web page link address often in a variety of internal chain, external chain form, if the use of some anchor text links, these text content may attract users to click, If the 404 page is not set, the user will get a wrong page and the search engine will get a dead end. This is why these links are called dead links. Do the website know that website optimization from the site and the site outside the optimization of two aspects to carry out, then the site optimization you are not forgetting your 404 page? Today, Kunming SEO blogger to talk about 404 page setting methods and precautions.
Don’t neglect your 404 page with in-site optimization
What is a 404 page
A 404 page is a page that the server cannot provide information when the client is browsing the web, or the server cannot respond and does not know why. When the user enters the wrong link, the page returned will tell the viewer that the requested page does not exist or the link is incorrect, and also direct the user to other pages of the site instead of closing the window and leaving. Custom 404 error pages are a good way to enhance the user experience.
Two, 404 page function
404 page is a website essential page, it carries the heavy responsibility of user experience and SEO optimization. A 404 page is usually a 404 error returned by the server when a user visits a page that does not exist or has been deleted from the website. If the webmaster does not set a 404 page, there will be dead links, spiders crawling such urls, not conducive to the search engine included.
3. 404 page error message
Is the WWW website visit more frequently appeared error. The most common error message: 404 NOT FOUND. A 404 page is the page that is returned when a user enters an incorrect link.
Four, 404 page face seo impact
Customizing 404 error pages is a good way to enhance user experience, but the impact of 404 pages on search engines is often not noticed in the application process. For example, incorrect server-side configuration results in the return status code “200” or Meta Refresh results in the return status code “302” for custom 404 error pages.
Five, 404 page setting benefits
1. Guide users not to close the website to enhance user experience.
2. Prevent dead links from appearing on websites.
Six, 404 page setting method
Method 1: Download the 404 page template
1, after downloading, unzip the file, there is a 404 folder and 404.php two files; Note that there is a picture in the 404 file. Please do not rename the picture and 404 folder to avoid affecting the display effect.
2. Use Dreamweaver software to open the file 404.php, change the “http://xx.com” between the double quotes into your own URL, and click “File” – “Save”.
3. Open the FTP upload tool, upload the 404 folder and 404.php to the theme folder in the root directory of the website, and directly cover it if prompted. (If you don’t know which folder your site is rooted in, consult your space provider.)
4, upload completed, landing space control panel, find the error page (the name of the general space may be different, if not found then consult the space service provider to see), in the “error page” Settings.
5, finally we open the browser, enter our website, at random knock some letters or numbers behind the website, and then press enter, you can see the following 404 page renderings, when we click “return to the website home page”, will return to our website home page, such a simple 404 page is set up!
Method 2: Create a 404 page
1, open Dreamweaver software, (do not know how to use Dreamweaver software Google, here is not much to say) click on the new php file, in the title to customize the content you want to write, in the label to customize the content you want to write, and then click file save, file name 404, Save to the desktop.
2. Open the FTP software, log in FTP, find the root directory of the website, find the theme file, find the 404.php file, upload the 404 page, replace the original 404.php, if prompted to cover directly. Go to the website, enter the wrong address, and check that the 404 page is valid. This is our site 404 page the most simple production is complete.
Method 3: (Suitable for those who are familiar with wordpress code, if you are not familiar with the code, it is recommended that you use the first method to set up the 404 page)
1. By learning “wordpress Template Structure Analysis”, we know that index.php is the place to store the homepage template of a website. Of course, in fact, this is not entirely true. This code is called “awt”, “bog”, familiar with the code of children shoes generally can quickly find the home page template file.
2. After finding the home page template file (here we use the index.php file to demonstrate), download it from the FTP tool and rename it 404.php
3, use Dreamweaver software to open 404.php, the largest file
Delete all contents in the label, and write the following contents in the label:
The content you are looking for does not exist! Return to homepage
After editing, click “File” – “Save”.
4. Upload the modified 404 page to the root directory of your website /wp-content/themes/ the theme you installed /.
The above three methods are relatively simple 404 page Settings, of course, now most of the site theme has its own 404 page Settings, if you are not satisfied with the theme of the site’s own 404 page can be made or modified.
Seven, 404 page Settings note
1, do not turn the 404 error directly to the website home page, which will lead to the home page is not included
2. Do not include the main domain name before/err. html; otherwise, the status code returned is 302 or 200
3, 404 page in line with the site’s own design style, it is best to join the site navigation and bottom (especially the site map)
4, do not use absolute URL, if use absolute URL return status code is 302+200
5, 404 page Settings are complete, be sure to check whether it is correct. But the http header must return a 404 status. This is mainly related to search engines, because if your site produces more pages but search engines see a lot of the same normal page, it may be mistakenly considered cheating.
6, 404 page do not automatically jump, let the user to decide where to go. This involves 404 pages, providing a user experience is very important, 404 pages are very knowledgeable.
7. Prompt visitors to check spelling
It’s also possible that visitors see a 404 error page because they typed the URL incorrectly. Prompt visitors to check their spelling, but don’t be rude. As we mentioned above, your wording should not make visitors
Feel like you’re blaming them.
8. Return the page to 404
Each web page has a server response code. Code 200 means the page is fine, and 404 means the page cannot be found. If you have specified a custom 404 error page, make sure the title of the page returns the correct response code. There are several different ways to do this, the simplest being to specify the error page with your htaccess file.
To sum up: Although the probability of 404 page being seen by users is much smaller than other pages of the whole site, but with the long-term accumulation of the site, 404 page will inevitably make mistakes whether it is caused by user error or server, this is a very rare error situation, as web designers or developers, sometimes we can not control the occurrence of error pages, But we can minimize the damage by using a custom 404 error page. A good user experience is that we can’t miss any small details. First, we need to convey the information to the user well on this page; second, we need to guide the user to the next step and guide the user to stay in our website instead of closing the window in frustration. In order to improve the user experience, the last thing I want to say is that although the 404 page belongs to the site structure optimization of a detail part, as long as we put these details to understand thoroughly, I believe that for the general site SEO diagnosis is not any problem, I hope this article can help SEO novice.
