404 Error
Tags: webdev, html, beginners, programming
Published: 2021-11-01 15:14:54

#404 Error#
What is a 404 error?  It is commonly known as "404 page not found". This means the server is trying to tell us the requested webpage is not found on the server.

##Causes Of Occurence##
1. The URL or its content (such as files or images) was either deleted or moved (without adjusting any internal links accordingly)
2. The URL was written incorrectly or typed in the broswer       incorrectly
3. DNS server complications
4. Junk files in current browser
5. The entered domain name doesn’t exist (anymore)
6. Error or broken HTML pages(broken HTML templates codes)


##Forms Of Occurance##
1. 404 error
2. 404 not found
3. HTTP 404 not found
4. Error 404
5. 404 page not found
6. The requested URL was not found in server

##How To Fix a 404 Error##
**Reload the page:** It might be that the error 404 has appeared for the simple reason that the page did not load properly. This can be checked quite easily by clicking on the ‘Refresh’ button in your browser or also by pressing the F5 button.

**Check the URL:** Regardless of whether you have entered the URL address manually or been directed via a link, could be that a mistake has been made. For this reason you should check the specified path of the website. It could be that either you, or the person who entered the link, has mistyped something. Apart from spelling mistakes, it could also be that forward slashes have been left out or misplaced. But bear in mind that this can only really be checked with ‘clean’ URLs, as they contain unreadable words instead of incomprehensible abbreviations, letters, numbers, and symbols.

**Go back through the directory levels:** For example, if a URL of the following structure example.com/Directory1/Directory2/Directory3 causes a 404 error page, then you can always go back to the previous directory level (in this example: example.com/Directory1/Directory2) in order to check whether the desired page is linked there. All you need to do is clear the last directory in the URL. The link for the page you are looking for should be visible on the previous page. If it is not to be found on that page then you can also go back to the previous page and look for the correct link there. But if it so happens that this method is also successful and you eventually end up back on the homepage, then move onto the next tip.

**Use the website’s search function:** Many websites offer a search function as part of their homepage. By entering one or several keywords, it can help you find the specific page that you are looking for.

**Use a search engine:** You also have the possibility of using the website of your choice to find a website. As long as the desired site exists, you should be able to find it by entering the website domain and/or a keyword transcription of the subject matter.

**Delete the browser cache and cookies:** Ifyou can access the website from another device, and the HTTP 404 error only seems to appear on a certain computer, then the problem could lie with your browser. Therefore you should delete the browser cache as well as all cookies for this site, and this may then finally allow you to access the page.


*Search engines, such as Google and Bing, will have a negative impression of a site if it has many 404 errors. Once the crawlers have established that many requests are being met with 404 codes, it presumes the site isn’t very well maintained.*


*Aarga Sam*