Bill Myers

On the web, it's known as a '404 page not found' error. That's the message web surfers see when they try to visit web pages that no longer exist, or at addresses they have mistyped.

Since you never want to turn visitors away, especially with an error message, it is wise to modify your site settings so visitors never see the dreaded '404 page not found' error message.

Doing this is easy. In most cases, you can go to your web site control panel and enter a specific page address where all '404' or 'http' errors will be redirected.

The easiest and most logical page to use for '404' redirection is the front page of the site. Doing this allows all visitors to see the most important page of the site, and gives them the opportunity to use your site's navigation and search features to find the pages they were really looking for.

Setting a default '404' or 'http' error redirect page is easy, free, and can ensure that visitors never see the '404 page not found' error while on your site. (To test your '404' redirection, just try to go to a non-existent page address on your site - like http://www.bmyers.com/nopage.html .)