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WiscWeb - WordPress UW Theme - Creating a Custom 404 Page
This document will walk you through setting up a custom 404 page for your site.
What is a custom 404 page?
When an end-user enters a URL for your site that does not exist, they will get a 404 error, which indicates that the page they were looking for does not exist. This can be very confusing for customers who:
- Have old bookmarks to pages
- Have old links in communications (emails, brochures, etc.)
Creating a custom 404 page allows you to present more information to your customers rather than a generic error.
To create a custom 404 page
- Login to your WordPress site.
- Create a new page with the content you want for your 404 page. We recommend naming it "404 Error"
- In your Dashboard, click on Appearance > Customize.
- Click on Custom 404 Page.
- You will see a dropdown with all of your pages selected. Select the page you created in step 2 (e.g. 404 Error).
- Click Save
Example Content for a Custom 404 Page
The following is an example of the type of content you could include in a custom 404 page (in a text block). The bolded content will need to be updated with your site's info:
"The page you are trying to view has either been removed or is temporarily unavailable. If you have reached this page while navigating the [your website name here] website or submitting a form, your browser cache may need to be cleared.If you believe you have received this message in error, please email [email address] and include your name, contact information and information about how you reached this page. We will analyze the issue and will get back to you on the status."