How to Fix a 404 Error

1) Identify the pages throwing this error

You probably already have a handle on this step, but here’s a tip you might not know: it’s actually really easy to find your 404 errors for free, either with websites that crawl your site for 404s, like sitechecker, or with Google’s own tool, Google Search Console.

With these tools you’ll be able to identify the URLs that can’t be found — or more precisely, whose content can’t be found.

2) Figure out how important those URLs are

It’s very important that you analyze the URLs with this error, because while best practice says you shouldn’t have 404s at all, the reality is it’s not the end of the world to have a few of them. What IS a problem is having these errors on pages that are, or were, genuinely important to your website. Try to identify the ones that actually matter, put them in a list on a spreadsheet, and move on to the next step.

3) Identify your CMS

If you’re here, it’s because you’ve got a 404 error, but how you fix it depends on your CMS — whether it’s WordPress, Shopify, or GoDaddy, most of them let you fix these errors fairly easily through redirects.

Redirects: the key to fixing a 404 error

Google is like a bad ex — it always remembers and never forgets. So every URL you’ve ever published will very likely stick around in Google’s index for a good while, which is exactly why it’s so important to fix these errors with redirects. Redirects make sure that when a user or Googlebot lands on that URL, they get sent to a related URL that still matters.

And yes, here’s another thing you need to keep in mind: these redirects need to be done right. Picture this — if your URL or page once talked about the best hot dogs in Bogotá, but you moved or deleted that content, the redirect should point to related content, in this case, the best hot dogs in Colombia.

Perfect! Now that we know 404s get fixed with redirects, let me show you how to do it on the most popular CMS platforms. And if this info happens to be outdated by the time you read it, you can always just search Google for “how to set up a redirect in X CMS.”

WordPress

Page redirect:

1. Install a plugin: Go to “Plugins” > “Add New” and search for a redirect plugin like “Redirection,” “Yoast SEO,” or “Rank Math” (all solid plugins for SEO).
2. Set up the plugin: Activate it and head to its settings section.
3. Add the redirect: In the redirects section, enter the old URL and the new URL you want it to point to.

Shopify

URL redirect:

1. Log in to Shopify: Go to your Shopify admin panel.
2. Go to “Online Store”: Select “Online Store” from the sidebar menu.
3. Choose “Navigation”: Go to “Navigation” and then select “URL Redirects.”
4. Add the redirect: Click “Add URL Redirect,” enter the old URL and the new URL, and save your changes.

Drupal

Redirecting with a module:

1. Install the “Redirect” module: Go to “Extend,” then search for and install the “Redirect” module.
2. Set up the module: Once installed, go to “Configuration” > “Redirects.”
3. Add the redirect: Enter the old URL and the new URL in the fields provided and save your changes.

Keep in mind that all these CMS platforms tend to follow the same structure: the URL you want to redirect from (left side) and the URL you want it to redirect to (right side).

Most CMS platforms will also ask you to pick a redirect type, usually a number like 301, 302, or 307. I’d recommend sticking with 301 whenever you can, though these days Google doesn’t really care much about which redirect type you use.

How do you know the error is fixed?

To confirm the redirect worked, when you go to your old URL it should load and display the new URL — a process that’s barely noticeable to the user, but that’s happening behind the scenes. To actually verify a redirect is in place, you can install a Google Chrome extension called Redirect Path

Once you have it installed, just click it and it’ll show you the step-by-step of any redirect happening on that URL.

And that’s it — you’ve now fixed an existing 404 error on your website. IMPORTANT: any time you make a content change that alters a URL, that will cause a 404 error, so keep that in mind and set up the matching redirect.

Do you need to have zero 404s on your website?

No, you don’t. But hey, you read the whole article anyway, so good for you! Just kidding. As I mentioned, how serious a 404 error is really depends on the situation — you never want one on a URL that brings you a lot of traffic or that you’re running ads to. So in the end, it depends. I’ve got a few 404 errors on this site myself, for example, but they’re on URLs that just aren’t relevant to me.