Services
TAYA

They Ask, You Answer Mastery

A coaching & training program that drives unmatched sales & marketing results.

Sales

Sales Performance Mastery

Improve the competencies and close rates of your sales organization.

Web design

Website Mastery

Web design, development & training for your team.

HubSpot

HubSpot Mastery

Everything you need to get the most from HubSpot.

AI Mastery

AI Enablement Mastery

Unlock the power of AI in all aspects of your revenue operations.

Discover how IMPACT’s services can help take your business to the next level. Book a free 30-minute coaching session Book a free 30-minute coaching session
Learning Center
Learning Center

Learning Center

Free resources to help you improve the way you market, sell and grow your business.

Discover how IMPACT’s services can help take your business to the next level. Book a free 30-minute coaching session Book a free 30-minute coaching session

Free: Assessment Does your website build trust with buyers and bring in revenue?

Score My Website
Close

Free: Assessment

Does your website build trust with buyers and bring in revenue?
Take this free 6 question assessment and learn how your website can start living up to its potential.
Score My Website
Melanie Moore

By Melanie Moore

Sep 21, 2019

Topics:

Web Design Infographics
Subscribe
Join 40,000+ sales and marketing pros who receive our weekly newsletter.

Get the most relevant, actionable digital sales and marketing insights you need to make smarter decisions faster... all in under five minutes.

Thanks, stay tuned for our upcoming edition.
Web Design  |   Infographics

Dissecting Error 404: Things That Could Happen If Your Page Is Broken [Infographic]

Melanie Moore

By Melanie Moore

Sep 21, 2019

Dissecting Error 404: Things That Could Happen If Your Page Is Broken [Infographic]

Picture this, you’re surfing the web looking for the perfect outfit for an upcoming wedding, you find it, click to read more and it happens...404 error, this page no longer exists

We’ve all stumbled upon 404 errors, also known as broken links, either by exploring the world wide web or by skimming through our very own website, and it can be incredibly frustrating. The problem is that it can also have a huge impact on your site usage and performance. 

Spiralytics Performance Marketing put together this infographic to help you understand 404 errors and help you resolve them. 

What causes a 404 error?

A user can stumble upon a 404 error for a number of reasons. Some of the most common are:

  • A page from the site was removed
  • The URL of a page was updated 
  • An internal link on the website is misspelled or input incorrectly
  • A site (ACTUALLY) no longer exists
  • A user misspells a URL while typing it in

Do 404 errors really matter? 

You may think having 404 errors on your site is no big deal, but it can have some major effects on your visitors and site usage. 

Visitors can get frustrated and leave your site altogether. If they cannot easily find what they are looking for on your site, they will go to a competitor's site, and this will cause your bounce rate to go up and your traffic to go down.

As search engines crawl broken links, your website will lose its brand authority — and search engines will determine that your site is not well-maintained or reliable. This may result in your pages no longer being shown on the SERPs (search engine results pages).  

But, all is not lost!

The great thing about 404 errors is that they can be fixed! 

If you are recreating a current page on your site, make sure to keep the URL the same if possible. If you MUST modify your URL structure, it is important to set up a 301 redirect to ensure users get to the new URL and website page. 

Additionally, when removing a page from your site, you should also set up a 301 redirect to a complementary page so that a user may still find the information they are looking for. 

Depending on the platform that your website is built on there are different ways to set up a 301 redirect. If you have a WordPress site you can use a plugin like Redirection. If your site is built on HubSpot, this article can help walk you through the steps. 

Another great way to combat 404 errors is to have some fun with your 404 error page by creating a custom one. Provide an easy way for users to get to some of your top-visited pages by including buttons or links on the page. Here is one that our client, Weld.com created with quick link buttons and a funny video to go along with it. 

There are also a number of tools to help you pinpoint and fix 404 errors:

  • Google Analytics: You can track visitor behavior in Google Analytics to see how often users are viewing 404 errors. You can find this under Behavior > Site Content > All Pages. 
  • Google Search Console: Register your account with Google and set up Google Search Console to crawl your site for 404 errors. This will help you pinpoint the pages, making it easy to resolve problems. Additionally, once the pages are fixed you can resubmit your sitemap to be crawled immediately. 
  • Screaming Frog: This tool will crawl your site and inspect pages and URLs for errors. With this tool you can easily create a report of issues and use it to fix errors over time.
  • W3C Link Checker: This tool will run a scan of your site and show you any broken links (internal or external). All you need to do is plug in your domain and the tool does the rest. 

So, what are you waiting for? Check out the infographic below and start fixing those 404 errors!

Dissecting-404-errors-Infographic

Free: Assessment

Does your website build trust with buyers and bring in revenue?
Take this free 6 question assessment and learn how your website can start living up to its potential.

Related Articles

10 Pricing Page Examples for Business Websites (Updated for 2024)

November 30, 2023
Connor DeLaney Connor DeLaney

The Hidden Costs of a Cheap Website

November 29, 2023
Vin Gaeta Vin Gaeta

The Website Experience Your Customers Are Yearning For

November 27, 2023
Mary Brown Mary Brown

10 Examples of Company Profile Pages to Inspire Yours

November 22, 2023
John Becker John Becker

Is It Time for an AI-powered Chatbot on Your Website?

November 21, 2023
Will Smith Will Smith

Think of Your Business as ‘E-Commerce’ — No Matter What You Sell

November 15, 2023
John Becker John Becker

8 of the Best Business Website Designs to Inspire You in 2024

November 1, 2023
John Becker John Becker

Your Website in 2024: The Future of Trends, Tech, and Traffic

November 1, 2023
Vin Gaeta Vin Gaeta

Create Better Website Videos by Avoiding These 3 Mistakes

October 25, 2023
Melanie Moore Melanie Moore

4 Ways To Recession-proof Your Website In 2024

October 22, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

Business Leaders: Do You ‘Own’ Your Own Website?

October 16, 2023
Mary Brown Mary Brown

Can I Use AI Tools To Build My New Website?

September 18, 2023
Vin Gaeta Vin Gaeta

What Is a 'Learning Center' and Why Does My Website Need One?

September 14, 2023
John Becker John Becker

How Much Does a Website Redesign Cost in 2023?

July 20, 2023
Vin Gaeta Vin Gaeta

Do You Need a New Website? Maybe Not

July 19, 2023
Vin Gaeta Vin Gaeta

14 Award-Winning Website Designs (& What They Did Right)

July 17, 2023
Christine Austin Christine Austin

What a New Self-Selection Tool for Your Website Will Cost

July 13, 2023
John Becker John Becker

9 Self-Service Tools to Inspire Your Business Website

July 10, 2023
John Becker John Becker

What Does a Great Inbound Marketing Website Look Like in 2024?

May 16, 2023
Melanie Moore Melanie Moore

Your Website Strategy Must Include These 6 Things

March 20, 2023
Mary Brown Mary Brown

Website Conversions in 2023 — STOP, START, KEEP

January 25, 2023
Vin Gaeta Vin Gaeta

Website Mastery: A better redesign process for your business website

November 1, 2022
John Becker John Becker

8 Best Content Management Systems for Digital Marketing in 2023

October 1, 2022
Melanie Moore Melanie Moore

12 Essential Tips for Improving Your Web Design in 2023

September 13, 2022
Christine Austin Christine Austin

23 of the Best Examples of Business Blog Design

May 30, 2022
Christine Austin Christine Austin