Why you need a 404 Error Page and how to create one in Showit

What is a 404 error and why do you need a 404 error page on your website?

Technology never works perfectly. There can always be issues, like expired or broken links etc.

A 404 error page lets your website visitors know that they did everything right (like going to the right page) but the web server couldn’t find the page they requested. So, a 404 page is basically a customized error page. A 404 error page also helps your visitors return to a part of your website that is working fine, instead of leaving your website.

Finding broken links on your website

Usually, you don’t browse your own website to often so you wouldn’t necessarily stumble upon your own broken links (which would lead to a 404 page). But there is a free tool you can use to scan your website and find all your broken links: Brokenlinkcheck. Simply type in your website’s URL and they will scan all your links and tell you which ones might lead to your 404 error page.

How do you create a 404 error page in Showit?

Creating your 404 page in Showit is fairly simply. You create it like you would every “normal” page in Showit, by clicking on the + where your pages are:

There are very fancy 404 error page designs out there! If you need some inspiration check out what Pinterest has to offer.

404 error page best practice

1. Add just one canvas to the page and design away to your heart’s content. Many designers leave out the footer completely, some use a header, some don’t. That’s up to you. I didn’t use header nor footer on my 404 page because I wanted it to be very clean and simple.
2. Design the mobile AND the desktop version.
3. Make sure your canvas is “window height” for both mobile and desktop:

3. Think of a nice catchy headline, and add some text. You can get reeeeeally creative with this! Check out some of these incredible design examples from Pinterest:

4. Have some sort of prompt that brings your website visitors back to the working part of your website. Usually, it’s a button that’s taking you back to the HOME page. Don’t forget to link the button to the correct page on your website. You could also add a link to your social media or to your blog, or give them several options where to go like in this example.

5. The last thing to consider when you design your 404 error page is your blog. If your website has a blog it needs a 404 page as well. Simply add the 404 page you just designed for your website to your blog as well by clicking on the 3 dots next to the 404 page and clicking “Copy to Blog Template”:

Now link the 404 BLOG page correctly by choosing “404” under “WordPress Template”:

And that is all. Congratulations, you just added a 404 error page to your website!