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What does a 404 Not Found error mean, and how do you fix it?

A 404 Not Found error means the server is working, but there is nothing at the address you asked for. The website is not down, the page is missing.

Why you might see a 404

A typo in the address. One wrong letter or a missing hyphen is enough.
The page was moved or deleted. Sites reorganise, and old links stop working.
A broken link. Someone linked to the page with the wrong address, or the link was cut off when it was pasted.
An old bookmark or search result. The page existed when it was saved but has since gone.

What visitors can try

Check the address for typos, and remove anything after a question mark.
Go to the site’s home page and use its search or menu to find the page.
Search for the page title on a search engine. The site may have moved it.
If a web archive has an old copy, it may show what the page said.

If every page on a site shows a 404, even the home page, that is a different problem, usually a misconfigured server. In that case, run a check to see how the site answers from several countries.

404 or 410?

A 410 Gone says the page was removed on purpose and will not return. Search engines drop a 410 a little faster than a 404. For most sites the difference is small, and a clear 404 page is fine.

For site owners

Redirect moved pages with a 301 to the closest matching page, so visitors and search engines follow along.
Make the 404 page useful. Add a search box and links to your main sections.
Return a real 404 status. If an error page returns 200 OK, search engines treat it as a normal page. This is called a soft 404.
Fix broken links that you control. Search Console’s coverage reports list the missing pages Google has found.

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Last updated 2 November 2026. Written by the siteupdown.com team. Spotted a mistake?

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