\n
404<\/code> (“File not found”) responses<\/a>
\n on the web: “hard 404<\/code> error” and “soft 404<\/code> error.” We discourage the use
\n of so-called soft 404<\/code> because they can be a confusing experience for users and search
\n engines. Instead of returning a 404<\/code> response code for a non-existent URL, websites
\n that serve soft 404<\/code> errors return a 200<\/code> response code<\/i>. The
\n content of the 200<\/code> response is often the home page of the site, or an error page.\n<\/p>\n\n How does a soft 404<\/code> look to the user? Here’s a mockup of a soft 404<\/code>:
\n This site returns a 200<\/code> response code and the site’s home page for URLs that don’t
\n exist.\n<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/alienroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/kb-gorsel\/g-1268e137ee9a.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n As exemplified above, soft 404<\/code> errors are confusing for users, and furthermore search
\n engines may spend much of their time crawling and indexing non-existent, often duplicative URLs
\n on your site. This can negatively impact your site’s crawl coverage\u2014because of the time Googlebot
\n spends on non-existent pages, your unique URLs may not be discovered as quickly or visited as
\n frequently.\n<\/p>\nWhat should you do instead of returning a soft 404<\/code>?<\/h2>\n\n It’s much better to return a 404<\/code> response code and clearly explain to users that
\n the file wasn’t found<\/i>. This makes search engines and many users happy.\n<\/p>\n![\"example](\"https:\/\/alienroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/kb-gorsel\/g-860c44123632.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"example](\"https:\/\/alienroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/kb-gorsel\/g-d933ee303b81.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n Can your webserver return 404<\/code>, but send a helpful “Not found” message to the user? Of
\n course! More info as
\n “404<\/code> week<\/a>”
\n continues!\n<\/p>\n