Having an imaginative 404 Error Page won’t make your business a success, but success is in the detail. A creative 404 page is a great opportunity to make an impression to your visitors, turning a negative into a positive.

In an ideal world, you will want very few people ever seeing your 404 Error Page, but the reality is it will happen. An incorrect link posted on social media; someone references the wrong URL, a page changes or moves. There are many reasons why a visitor may see a 404; the key is to guide them back into your website and avoid them bouncing, unlikely to ever visit again.

What is a 404 Error

A 404 Error Page is an HTTP response that is served to users when a link or page they have requested on your website is not there. Standard 404 pages aren’t very helpful to the user but with a little imagination, they can be. Google also recognise this and encourage some effort here to improve the user experience.

6 Tips to Create a 404 Error Page

  1. Never blame the user for the Error
  2. Have a personable approach and help the user
  3. Ensure style and menu navigation remains uniform
  4. Include a search feature
  5. In addition to links back to your main site, consider showcasing your best work, products, popular articles or pages
  6. Technical – de-Index your 404 page, you don’t want it to appear in Search Engine Results

25 of the Best 404 Error Pages

Lacking ideas or inspiration? There is a stack of clever ideas, creativity and humour in the examples below.

25 – backcountry.com/404

backcountry.com 404 Error Page design

24 – bobwassermann.me/404

bobwassermann.me 404 Error Page design

23 – eyeem.com/p/1234

eyeem.com 404 Error Page design

22 – brandcrowd.com/404

brandcrowd.com 404 Error Page design

21 – krit.it/404

Nice video of a typical IT department when something breaks.

krit.it domain 404 Error Page design

20 – larkef.com/404

Shout out to the IT Crowd.

larkef.com 404 Error Page design

19 – incore.com/404notfound

incore.com 404 Error Page design

18 – lexception.com/404notfound

lexception.com 404 Error Page design

17 – worrydream.com/404notfound

worrydream.com 404 Error Page design

16 – magnt.com/404/

magnt.com 404 Error Page design

15 – coolappse.com/404notfound

coolappse.com 404 Error Page design

14 – theglenngroup.com/404notfound

glenngroup 404 Error Page design

13 – wearespry.com/404notfound

Video of a cute puppy wondering why you are even there.

wearespry.com 404 Error Page design

12 – visitsteve.com/404.html

A slightly uncomfortable interaction with Steve, very memorable and creative.

visitsteve.com 404 Error Page design

11 – mobiles.co.uk/404

Will you be able to resist a game of Snake?

mobiles.co.uk 404 Error Page design

10 – bluegg.co.uk/404

A goat screaming like a human, we get the message.

bluegg.co.uk 404 Error Page design

09 – bluedaniel.com/404

Possibly the most creative 404 page the Internet has ever seen, check it out.

bluedaniel.com 404 Error Page design

08 – hootsuite.com/404notfound

hootsuite.com 404 Error Page design

07 – mashable.com/404/

Mashable are collecting all of those missing socks.

mashable.com 404 Error Page design

06 – marvelapp.com/404/

marvelapp.com 404 Error Page design

05 – kitkat.com/404notfound

Creatively combining a KitKat with a game of Ping Pong, who knew!

kitkat.com 404 Error Page design

04 – emailcenteruk.com/404notfound

Funny, curious if they keep a running total on who to fire.

emailcenteruk.com 404 Error Page design

03 – eharmony.com/404/

eharmony.com 404 Error Page design

02 – lego.com/404

lego.com 404 Error Page design

01 – bluefountainmedia.com/404/

Who could resist Pacman, I bet the time on page statistics are impressive.

bluefountainmedia.com 404 Error Page design