404 Error Pages: What Are They And How Do You Create One?

We've all seen them, you've been browsing a website and you click a link and nothing loads apart from the words '404 Error' along with the usual stuff.

So what is a 404 Error page? The 404 Error page, basically informs the user that the server cannot find the file they are looking for. However, instead of using the default 404 Error page you can create your own, this is how you do it.

First, you need your .htaccess file which should be within your web site directory. If you cannot find it you will need to create one. You will have to contact your host asking them how you would go about creating or editing this file. They may want you to use a text editor and then upload it, or they may want you to use a PICO editor and create or edit the file on the server.

How you have access to the .htaccess file lets edit it. Add this line to the .htaccess file:

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

Make sure this line is kept on online. This is where your 404 Error page is kept.

Now you've change the .htaccess file you need to create the page. This is simply a normal HTML document. Once you've created the HTML document, save it and call it 404page.html. Now the next step is to upload the .htaccess file and the page to the server.

Now that is done your next step is to turn it on. This is done by setting the CHMOD attribute to 644. You can do this via telnet or some FTP programs. If your going to telnet into your server, use the following command:

chmod 644 .htaccess

Now test to see if it's worked. Just go to a page that doesn't exist on your server and you should see your new 404 Error page. If not, then make sure the CHMOD is set correctly, and if that doesn't help, you may want to ask your hosting company for support.

About The Author

I currently own and run a small E-commerce template website located at http://www.sjh-designs.co.uk. You can find several more guides located at http://www.sjh-designs.co.uk/guides.htm.

In The News:

New Jersey workers were cleaning up the Pequannock River in Bloomingdale's Sloan Park to prepare for a flood mitigation project Thursday when they spotted a stone with an unusual marking.

An extremely rare menu from Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage to New York is up for auction in the U.K. this weekend.

An invasive insect species native to China, India, and Vietnam is posing a problem in at least two states in the northeastern and southeastern part of the country.

It's been more than 14 years since a spacecraft launched toward Mercury, so don't miss your chance to watch a rocket do just that.

California residents were stunned to watch a fireball of space junk shoot across the sky and fall onto a nearby ranch last week.

Whole libraries have been written trying to explain how Leonardo da Vinci produced some of the world's most revered paintings.

When Germany invaded Norway in 1940, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler endorsed the concept of German soldiers hooking up with Norwegian women, as that would help bring the Nazis closer to the Aryan master race they wished for.

Earlier this week, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory posted a video of how its InSight lander, set to arrive on Mars on November 26, will use its robotic arm and position its sensitive instruments on Mars' surface in an effort to study the inside of the planet for the first time ever.

The insects are disappearing from an American rainforest—and scientists say the implications are frightening.

An extremely rare Viking ‘Thor’s Hammer’ amulet has been discovered in Iceland.

404 Error Pages: What Are They And How Do You Create One?

Personal Technology Personal Technology