The HTTP 404 Not Found
client error response code indicates that the server can't find the requested resource. Links which lead to a 404 page are often called broken or dead links, and can be subject to link rot.
A 404 status code does not indicate whether the resource is temporarily or permanently missing. But if a resource is permanently removed, a 410
(Gone) should be used instead of a 404 status.
Status
404 Not Found
Custom error pages
Many web sites customize the look of a 404 page to be more helpful to the user and provide guidance on what to do next. Apache servers can be configured using an .htaccess
file and a code snippet like the following example.
ErrorDocument 404 /notfound.html
For an example of a custom 404 page, see MDN's 404 page.
Custom design is a good thing, in moderation. Feel free to make your 404 page humorous and human, but don't confuse your users.
Specifications
Specification | Title |
---|---|
RFC 7231, section 6.5.4: 404 Not Found | Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.