Have you ever clicked a link and landed on a page that says “The page you are looking for cannot be found”? That is a 404 page. Kind of annoying, right? Anytime a visitor clicks a bad link or types a URL incorrectly they will be directed to that page.

So now you’re thinking what’s the big deal? I don’t have any bad links and if a visitor is accidentally directed to a 404 page they’ll just navigate to another page, right? They might navigate to another page, but they are more likely to actually leave your website. Often when visitors land on a 404 page they will get confused or frustrated. The goal of your website is to keep visitors on your website and creating a custom 404 page is a great way to increase the chances that your visitor will stay on your website.

Squarespace has a default 404 Page which is helpful that it exists, but it has minimal information and leaves a lot to be desired.

What should my 404 page include?

If a visitor lands on a page that looks like the image above they’re pretty likely to leave ASAP. It’s boring, doesn’t offer many options or solutions, and lacks branding. Consider including the following to customize:

• Include a captivating headline or title. Something to give the text content and page personality.

  • Ooops! We’re sorry, we can’t find what you’re looking for. Try one of these options:

  • Hey! It looks like the page you’re looking for doesn’t exist. Check this out instead…

• Add a search bar

• Include links to your most popular pages or blog posts

• Image or brand specific elements so that the page looks and feels like the rest of your website

How to I set up the custom 404 page?

• Go to your Squarespace Website

• Under Pages, create a Blank Page under your “Not Linked” section

• Give the page a name like “404 Error” or “Not Found”

• Customize the page using the tips above

• Save the Page

• Navigate back to the Main Menu

• Select Design > 404 Page > Select the page you just created from the dropdown

• Click Save