How to solve 404 error messages
Broken links, also known as dead links or link rot, are hyperlinks on your website that no longer point to a valid destination or web page. When a user clicks on a broken link, instead of being directed to the intended content, they encounter an error page or a “404 Not Found” error message.
Broken links can occur due to these five reasons:
- Page Deletion or Removal If a web page is deleted or removed from your website without setting up proper redirects, the link pointing to that page become broken.
- URL Changes – When the URL structure of your website is modified, existing links may not be updated, resulting in broken link errors.
- Typographical Errors Mistakes in manually entering or embedding links can lead to broken links. For example, misspelling a URL or forgetting to include necessary components like “http://” or “www” can produce a broken link error.
- Website Migration During the process of migrating your website from one platform to another or changing hosting providers, links can get broken if the URLs are not properly redirected.
- External Page Changes If your website links to an external page that have been deleted or modified, a broken link error message will be produced.
Broken links are problematic for both you and your website visitors:
- Negative User Experience When users encounter broken links, they are unable to access the desired content, creating friction and a poor user experience. This can negatively impact your brand credibility.
- SEO Impact Search engines consider broken links as a sign of poor website maintenance and user experience. Broken links can indicate outdated or low-quality content, often adversely affecting search engine rankings.
- Reduced Traffic and Conversions Broken links can hinder the flow of visitors through your website. When users encounter a broken link, they may abandon your site, resulting in lost traffic and potential conversions.
To mitigate broken links, you should regularly conduct link audits to identify and fix broken links. This involves checking internal and external links on your website and updating or removing any links that are no longer valid. Implementing proper redirects or providing alternative content when necessary can help maintain a seamless browsing experience for users and ensure that search engines can crawl and effectively index your website.