The days were reaching or typing the wrong page used to present you with a problem or a blank page are long gone. The public nowadays demands quality and a lot more from websites and hence as user experience is almost a target for perfection, designers nowadays (including ourselves, have a look at our 404 page for our client Salathong here) are able to customise the 404 pages of your websites.

There are a number of reasons why you should do this and as it is a reasonably easy task that does not necessarily require frequent amendments or management, it may be a good practice to implement in your company website or even your future developments if you are a web designer.

Let’s have a look at the 4 most important ones:

• Make it memorable

It is either that there is a blip on your website or the user has incorrectly typed the url he desired. Either way, make sure it is memorable or even a point of interest for your users to want to share on their social media channels. Make it quirky, clever or even provocative or cheeky in order to improve your chances of people remembering your 404 page and wanting to share it with others.

• Promote your Brand or Company

Create a personalised message relatable to your brand or motto and make sure to use similar if not identical colours to your normal website and other collateral branding. At the end of the day, your website is one of your most important tools of promoting your website and if you are able to attract a customer or even retain a customer on your site a little longer with a quirky 404 page, make sure it is one that represents you accordingly.

• Encourage engagement and Sharing

A good 404 page is one that focuses on the users experience and attempts to offer some benefit or advantage to a usually value-less page. It was common in the past for companies to follow the practice of attempting to explain the error that had occurred or apologising for it. Today, despite the fact you should still offer a brief explanation of what is occurring, it is important to make sure it is not the end of your users’ (and potential customers’ journey) on your website and that you are able to direct them to the correct place and head towards the page they were really looking for. It is also possible to install a search bar for users to be able to perform a search in order to identify the location they were seeking on your website.

All of the above will show the customer you care – even for the small things – and will potentially attract engagement, retain customers you may have previously lost and even increase sharing of your innovative page to other users.

Finally, why don’t we have a look at some really innovative and well-thought of 404 pages of brands globally from companies such as Lego, AirBnb, Rolling Stones, STG and

Do you know of any other really clever or industrious 404 Pages or perhaps one you came across by accident ? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.

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