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.

10 Easy Steps to Speed Up Your Computer - Without Upgrading

1. Empty the Temp directory regularly. To do this, make... Read More

10 Time Saving Keyboard Shortcuts

Time is money. And when you constantly have to divide... Read More

10 Tips to SPEED Up Your PC

1. Let your PC boot up completely before opening any... Read More

10 Tips to Stay Safe and Secure Online

The Internet can be a dangerous place.While you're enjoying the... Read More

15 Good Programming Habits

1. Before sitting down for coding, you must have formal... Read More

2 PC Annoyances and How To Solve Them!

I have a love-hate relationship with my computer.In fact, often... Read More

4 Computer Money-saving Tips

Tip #1 -- Rebates: A rebate is not always a... Read More

4 Easy Ways to Speed Up A Sluggish PC

Computers are supposed to speed up our productivity?to help us... Read More

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

We've all seen them, you've been browsing a website and... Read More

5 Minute Guide to Video Editing for Beginners

Getting started with video editing is very simple you only... Read More

5 Simple Ways To Increase Your Computer Speed & Help Your Computer Run More Efficiently!

If you're a computer expert, you'll probably already know about... Read More

5 Steps to Remove Spyware for Free

Have you ever tried to remove Spyware off your PC... Read More

5 Steps to Removing PC Clutter

It's hard enough as it is these days to get... Read More

5 Ways to Speed Up Your PC

No matter how fast your processor and regardless of how... Read More

7 Reasons NOT to Take Your Laptop on Holiday!

Heading off on vacation soon?Then perhaps you're tempted to take... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Avoiding Viruses

"Aaaaaahhhhhh! I've been invaded by a virus!" Getting a virus... Read More

A Lesson in HTML

As the owner of a Country Mall and Top Site... Read More

A Peek Into the Near Future of Electronics Technology

How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years?... Read More

A Tale of Two Regeds

Tech support tells me to type 'regedt32' as opposed to... Read More

Advantages and Guidelines of Automated Testing

"Automated Testing" is automating the manual testing process currently in... Read More

An All Too Familar Pain

Lost & Found for the 21st CenturyIn today's hectic world... Read More

Anti-Skip Protection on Mp3 Players

There have been some questions on anti-skip protection on mp3... Read More

Apache, MySQL & PHP for Windows

Apache, MysQL and PHP for Windows could be a nice... Read More

Are You Putting Off Productivity?

I recently took a good look at what was keeping... Read More

Are You Well Protected?

Winter?the official start of the cold and flu season. Though,... Read More

Back Up, Back Up, Back Up!

This is not your typical lost data story. I was... Read More

Basic Computer Maintenance

One of the most common questions computer users ask is,... Read More

Basic Computer Thermodynamics

That desk in front of you and everything else around... Read More

Basic Diagnosis Guidelines for Your PC

Simone is exasperated. She has to work on her university... Read More

Basic Problem in a PC

I have a p3 500MHz PC with 128MB RAM, 10.2... Read More

Be Prepared in the Event Computer Disaster Strikes

ComputersBusinesses and individuals alike have all grown to rely on... Read More

Be Your Own IT Department

If you use a computer, you need to know more... Read More

Best PC Pocket GPS

Stop Getting LostOne of the greatest uses for a pocket... Read More