404 pages are present when a page has been removed/deleted or turned off to be worked on. These pages present an error saying something like, "The page you're looking for has been removed or deleted." You can customize these pages so they'll redirect your customers or inform them of it being down and to check back at a later time. Broken links and 404 pages are useless for search engine bots and it’s a dead-end. It’s an important part of SEO to fix all possible 404 pages. In this article, we'll show you how to find these pages on your site.
Applies to Version(s): 3.6.0 - 3.8.2r2 (or Current)
In this article, you will learn:
How do I find 404 pages/broken links on my site?
How do I fix the 404 errors and broken links?
How do I find 404 pages/broken links on my site?
Note: There is no permanent fix for 404 errors as the internet is always changing, the only thing you can do is keep your pages and site up-to-date.
There are many tools for finding and fixing links and one of the sure-fire ways to do this is using Google Webmaster Tools/Analytics. Google will crawl your site and show you where they're located.
There are other tools to use, but using Google Search Console is free and is recommended for anyone managing a website. If you're interested in other resources for checking broken links, simply do a Google search on "404 checkers" and you'll get a bunch of sites that can help.
To get started with Google Search Console, you will need to verify your site. Here's a link that will walk you through how to do this easily.
Once you verified your site, you can go into your Webmaster Tools account and click on your site as seen here:
Now, when you click on "Manage Property," you will be brought to another page where you can verify your site and the link provided earlier will ensure this.
Now that you're verified, you will see more options to use in Webmaster Tools and this screenshot will show you how to check for errors:
You can now see all the errors on your site, and the image above shows clearly the index.php file hasn't been customized and will constantly be marked by Google as an error until it's fixed or changed.
Google also provides some helpful tips on creating useful 404 pages.
How do I fix the 404 errors and broken links?
Note: You won't be able to directly fix this through your index.php unless you have source code, using the .htaccess file to redirect will be the easiest option.
There are a few methods you can use to fix the 404 error/broken links.
- Redirect the 404 error/broken link elsewhere - Your .htaccess will help you do this. Customers can redirect to a home page or a specific page of your choosing. This article can provide help.
- Fixing the source link - If this link is broken and is sending your customers to a page not found error, you can fix this if you control the server environment or have FTP access.
- Adding back the removed pages - If the page that is returning the error is missing, you can always restore it or add it back using that same URL as a Custom URL.
- Forgetting about the error - It's not always important to fix. If this isn't a high priority issue or if your customers aren't being caused harm by this, you can then simply ignore the issue.
Fixing the error will require you to access the .htaccess file. This can be accessed via the Server, FTP or the Admin of the cart in the File Manager.
Links to Related Articles
If you didn't get your question answered, please contact the Pinnacle Cart Support Team. To submit a ticket, go to the My Account drop-down menu at the top right of the admin area and select Support.
