Page Not Found

When a visitor opens an address that does not exist, WordPress shows the theme’s 404 page inside the normal header and footer. It has no settings of its own.

What it shows

• A large “404” and the heading Page not found.
• A sentence saying the page may have been removed, renamed or be temporarily unavailable.
• A Go to Homepage button in your primary button style.
• A search form, under “Or try searching:”.

It follows Content Theme in Appearance → Customize → Content. With breadcrumbs on, it shows Home › Page not found unless you untick Show on the 404 page; see Breadcrumbs.

Fewer visitors on this page

Most 404s come from links to pages that were renamed, moved or removed. Promptless WP redirects a renamed or moved page’s old address automatically, can map addresses from a previous site onto new pages, and logs the addresses that still end here. See Redirects.

Limits and common problems

• The text cannot be changed in the Customizer. The wording is part of the theme. It can be translated like the rest of the theme’s text, or replaced with a 404.php template in a child theme.

Related pages

• Search — Add a search icon to the header that opens a full-screen search with instant results, and see what the search results page shows.
• Breadcrumbs — Turn on a breadcrumb trail under the header, choose which kinds of page show it, hide it on one page, and see how it works with SEO plugins.
• Redirects — How old page addresses keep working when a page is renamed, moved or merged, how to map a previous site's addresses, and how to find addresses nothing answers.