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4400 , 404 pages in my website!!!
Hello there!
In one of my projects, I’ve encountered a website that has a significant number of 404 errors. These errors occur when the requested pages cannot be found, and they are often associated with unrelated articles and categories. The website currently contains approximately 4400 pages with this issue.
Now, the dilemma is whether to redirect all these 404 pages or not. Redirecting them all might not be the best solution as it can negatively impact the user experience and may not be feasible in terms of creating meaningful redirects for each missing page. On the other hand, leaving them as 404 errors is also not ideal as it can frustrate users and affect the website’s overall credibility.
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Whay can I do … please share your experiences whit me .
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Thanks a lot
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1 Reply
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As a digital marketing expert, I suggest creating a custom 404 page that’s user-friendly, provides clear navigation back to your homepage or other important pages. This approach can mitigate user frustration. For high-traffic pages that are missing, create individual redirects to relevant pages. Also, use tools like Google Search Console to pinpoint and fix the sources of these 404 errors. Remember, a few 404s are normal, but a large number indicates a deeper issue that needs fixing.
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Were the pages moved or deleted? If they were moved, `301` redirect each one to its new destination. That can usually be automated if you have data from the old site.
If they were deleted, it might be a good idea to redirect each one to the most related page, but it depends.
A `404` page is almost always a worse user experience than landing on a page that gives them what they are looking for. I regularly search GSC and the logs for `404`s and fix them one way or another.
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Before you do anything, you need to figure out what is causing the 404 errors.
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Here are some practical steps based on my experience:
* First, figure out what is causing the 404 for 4k pages and then find the most optimal options to correct the issue.
* Prioritize high-traffic pages and create specific redirects to pages containing relevant content.
* Design a custom 404 error page to guide users back to relevant content (Such as to HomePage).
* Implement a robust search function to help users find what they need.
* Consolidate similar content to reduce 404 errors.
* Use 301 redirects for important pages that were removed to preserve SEO value.Submit sitemaps to aid search engine crawling.
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