{"id":26271,"date":"2019-11-06T12:05:22","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T10:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/?p=26271"},"modified":"2023-12-04T14:24:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T12:24:58","slug":"404-page-template","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/404-page-template\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Custom 404 Page Template in WordPress (2 Methods)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For users, encountering an error page can be frustrating and confusing. If your 404 page is not customized properly, users may decide to leave your website. As a result, you’re missing out on engagement and potential conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, you can let users know they are still on your website and direct them back to your content by creating a custom 404 page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s more, you can do this without needing any special technical knowledge thanks to Elementor and the Full Site Editing functionality in WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this article, we\u2019ll explain the \u2705 benefits of having a custom 404 page<\/a> for your website. Then, we\u2019ll show you how to build one in two different ways – with WordPress Full Site Editing<\/a> and with Elementor<\/a>. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why you need a custom 404 page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A 404 error is a page that’s displayed when a server is unable to find the requested content. In other words, when a visitor either clicks a broken link<\/a> or enters an incorrect URL on your site, they’ll receive a 404 error. For example, here’s our 404 page:<\/p>\n\n\n

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As you can see, we have tailored our 404 page to match our branding and to provide a way back to our active content – a search form and links to other posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An effective 404 page<\/a> that is customized lets people know they are on the right website. In addition, it can provide links back to your content, which can improve your overall engagement<\/a> numbers. If you don’t customize it, your visitors will receive a generic page from your active WordPress theme:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Not very attractive, is it? \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this particular 404 page does have a link back to its main website, there isn’t another way to tell which site it belongs to. As a result, the user may decide simply to close the window and move on. After all, if they fail to find the content they were looking for on your site, they may look elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, with our 404 page the user knows exactly where they are. Moreover, we’ve provided a search bar to help direct them to what they were trying to find. Not to mention, if you were to scroll down the page of our example you would find links to some of our most popular content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Including elements such as these on your custom 404 page can help to prevent users from bouncing<\/a>. In addition, you can increase time on site<\/a>, as well as build trust and goodwill<\/a> with your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n

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How to create a custom WordPress 404 page template using Full Site Editing (FSE)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress does have its own visual (block) editor<\/a>, which makes it easy to customize pages<\/a> and posts for any casual user. Creating a custom 404 template with WordPress’ native functionality does not require technical knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One particular thing to have in mind about this method is that you need to use a WordPress block theme<\/a> in order to make the most of the block editor’s capabilities. These themes are built with full site editing<\/a> in mind, which facilitates building and customizing templates with blocks and design patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this tutorial, we’ll use our own Neve FSE<\/a>. Before getting to the actual steps, install Neve FSE (or another block theme of your choice) from within the WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you’re wondering about the cost, there is none. Neve FSE is a free theme.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49 Then, just follow these few simple steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n