Getting Started

The first thing is to implement a custom 404 error page. We’ve covered this before, but it essentially involves adding the following to your root .htaccess file:

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ErrorDocument 404 http://www.yoursite.com/404.php

This will instruct all 404 error requests to be sent to the specified page rather than showing a default message.

The PHP Code

The following code needs to be customized and placed anywhere in your 404 php page:

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<? 
$myemail = "insert your email address here";
$page = 'http://' . $SERVER_NAME . $REQUEST_URI;
$subject = "404 Page Error";
$message = "
     404 Page Error Report
     Visitor came from: ".$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']."
     Page not found: ".$page."
";
mail($myemail,$subject,$message,"From: 404errorpage");
?>

This will send you an email which will include (if possible) both the page which the user has been referred from, and the page or resource which couldn’t be found.

Useful Applications

Implementing this has a whole host of useful outcomes. However, the first thing to note is that (unless you have previously added these files), a rapid number of emails will arrive in relation to:

• favicon.ico
• robots.txt

It may well be worth adding these files in before implementing the page so that you aren’t inundated with notifications! This technique can be invaluable when designing a new site, to sift out any broken links which may have been overlooked before launch. It is even more useful when modifying an existing site structure, to ensure that current links to your site are not taking new visitors to missing pages. If this is the case, simple redirects can be added using .htaccess:

For a file:

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RewriteRule file1.php$ file2.php [L]

For a directory:

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RewriteRule ^oldfolder/$  newfolder/ [L]

After a while, you’ll find that the odd 404 error is due to someone mistyping a URL, or having linked to a genuinely non-existent page on your site. It wouldn’t be advisable to keep this code in place permanently, but for a few days or weeks after making significant changes it provides a fantastic fail-safe.

How to redirect the user

You need to create a .htaccess file, using any standard text editor. Copy and paste the following code – substituting the path for your local 404 html page:

ErrorDocument 404 http://www.yoursite.com/404page.html

Once you’ve done that, you are ready to go. Here are a few ideas of things to include in your 404 page:

• A search box
• A link back to the homepage
• The same CSS and graphics as the rest of the website
• A website index or map

Get creative, make the user feel that they have an alternative route to find what they are looking for, and you’ll vastly improve their experience on your website!

Imaginative 404 Pages

To get inspiration, take a look at some other 404 pages. You’ll be surprised what you’ll find!