As a site owner, you’re probably familiar with the 404 error. It’s that pesky little message that pops up when someone tries to access a page on your website that doesn’t exist. While 404 errors can be annoying for your visitors, they can also be frustrating for you as a site owner. Not only do they impact your website’s SEO, but they can also cause people to abandon your site altogether.
If you’re like most WordPress site owners, you probably don’t spend much time thinking about 404 errors. After all, they happen on other people’s sites, not your own. But if you’re not vigilant about fixing them, 404 errors can quickly add up and cause serious damage to your website’s search engine rankings.
Fortunately, fixing 404 errors is a relatively easy task that can be accomplished from your WordPress dashboard.
What is a 404 Error?
A 404 error is a type of error message that is displayed when a requested web page or file cannot be found. The 404 error is displayed in the browser window, and usually contains the name of the file or the web page that could not be found.
This can happen for a number of reasons, such as if the page has been deleted or moved.
Why 404 Error Occur
The 404 Error is an HTTP status code that means the requested page could not be found on the server. This code is returned when a user tries to access a web page that doesn’t exist, or when a user tries to access a page that has been moved or deleted.
The 404 error is one of the most common web server errors. It’s caused when a requested page or file can’t be found on the server. The error page usually displays a custom message, as well as a link to the home page.
There are a number of reasons why a page or file might not be found. The most common causes are:
– The file was deleted or moved
– The URL was mistyped
– The site was redesigned and the page was moved
– The site was hacked and the page was deleted
How to Fix 404 Errors
Method 1. Reset Your WordPress Permalinks
WordPress permalinks are the permanent URLs to your posts and pages. They are the addresses that you see in the browser’s address bar, and they look like this:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/permalinks-settings.png
By default, WordPress sets your permalinks to post name, which looks like this: https://www.wpbeginner.com/2015/05/27/how-to-reset-your-wordpress-permalinks-to-fix-404/
If you’ve been seeing 404 errors on your WordPress website, it might be because your permalinks need to be reset. Permalinks are the permanent URLs to your individual blog posts and pages. They’re what you see in the browser’s address bar, and they’re also what Google and other search engines use to index your content.
To fix 404 errors resulting from corrupted permalinks, you’ll need to reset them by following these steps:
1. Log into your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click on “Settings” and then “Permalinks.”
3. Click the “Save
Method 2. Restore Your .htaccess File
If you’re getting 404 errors on your website, the first thing you should do is restore your .htaccess file. This file contains important information that tells your server how to handle requests for your website. If it’s missing or corrupted, you’ll see errors like “File not found” or “Access denied”.
To restore your .htaccess file, you’ll need to FTP into your website and download the file to your computer. Then, rename it to .htaccess (remove the leading dot) and upload it back to your website.
A .htaccess file is a configuration file used on web servers running the Apache HTTP Server software. It can be used to override the server’s default settings for the directory it lives in and can be used to redirect broken links or to set up password protection for a directory.
If you are experiencing 404 errors on your website, it is likely because the .htaccess file has been corrupted or deleted. You can restore your .htaccess file by following these steps:
To do that, you first need to log in to your hosting account. Then go to the cPanel. Now go to Files > File Manager. Your screen will now look something like this.
Select .htaccess and right-click on it. You’ll have several options here. Select the Edit option and add the following codes manually replacing the characters you see on your screen.
Once done, click save the file. This is the default .htaccess file for WordPress.
Note: restoring this file will also reset the permalink settings of your site.
You’ll have to restore your settings if you are using a custom permalink structure. You can do that by going to Settings > Permalinks on your WordPress dashboard, as illustrated in method one.
Conclusion
404 errors can be frustrating, but they’re easy to fix! In this article, we’ve shown you how to find and fix 404 errors from your WordPress dashboard. We hope this information has been helpful. If you have any questions or need assistance, please comment below. Thanks for reading!
