Here is the scenario.

You begin your journey. Searching with a random phrase and just then stick up with a website, when you are browsing a website and stuck up with a 404 error page.

So why do they even exist?

Those who are in the web industry will be able to tell you the benefits and importance of 404 error page.

There is lots of discussion going on about the 404 error page. For SEO purpose it has a huge benefit. Means, if the user of your website hits with an unavailable page on the website, then 404 pages is displayed. Every website whether large, medium or small, has 404 page embedded in it.

But only a smart website, take the full advantage of this 404 themed page! Many company websites simply redirect all 404 error to the homepage, but that’s exactly opposite of what you should be doing.

While there’s a lot of discussion surrounding how you should handle 404 errors and its impact on SEO, the truth remains that 404 errors are nearly unavoidable. While it’s appealing to simply redirect all 404 errors to the homepage, that’s actually the opposite of what you should be doing.

Here are the scenarios what would happen if you redirect the error to your website’s homepage. Firstly, the user will be confused as for how they wound up on the homepage when they clicked a link to a different page. Also, the user won’t have any access o the information they expected and won’t be able to know the reason. You might be thinking of the solutions like 301 and 302 to your homepage. But using this is also a bad idea and a wrongful SEO practice.

How to use a 404 error page in a good way?

The 404 error can be frustrating and hence you need a professionally designed theme or template. So instead of closing the window or navigating away from your site, the user will be able to find helpful and potentially relevant resources on another page.