What are the most helpful features of effective 404 File Not Found error pages?
file-not-found, http-status-code-404, usability
Solution
- Search
- Suggested pages (search results for the words in the not-found path)
- Aggregated global resources or maybe a brief sitemap
- Tags/categories/whatever your navigation shortcut features
- If the structure is a hierarchy and the not-found path is somewhere below the top level, make sure to taylor the above to wherever the user is in the hierarchy (eg. /widgets/some-widget -> Search within /widgets, suggested widgets, and so on).
Problem
When a user comes across your site's 404 File Not Found error page, it is most likely not what they were looking for. Here, you have the opportunity to turn a dead end into a resource that can help your visitor find whatever they were looking for. If you were going to create the perfect 404 File Not Found error page, what would it do? What are the most helpful features of effective 404 File Not Found error pages? Are there any strong examples out there?