How to Redirect Your WordPress 404 Page to the Homepage (2 Methods)

Hey there! Have you ever landed on one of those frustrating "404 Page Not Found" error pages while browsing a website? It‘s not a fun experience, right?

Navi.

As a website owner, 404 errors are more than just an annoyance for your visitors. They can seriously hurt your site‘s user experience, search engine rankings, and conversion rates.

In this guide, I‘ll dive into:

What 404 errors are and why they‘re bad news for your WordPress site
How redirecting 404 pages to your homepage or other relevant content can help
Two methods to implement 404 redirects on your site (with and without a plugin)
SEO best practices and creative ideas to turn your 404 page into an asset

By the end of this post, you‘ll have all the knowledge you need to stop 404 errors from harming your site‘s success. Let‘s get started!

What Is a 404 Error and Why Is It Bad for Your Website?

A 404 error occurs when someone tries to access a page on your website that doesn‘t exist. This can happen for a few reasons:

The page was deleted or moved to a new URL
The URL was typed incorrectly (a typo like "yourdomain.com/blgo" instead of "blog")
A link to your site from another website is outdated or broken

While 404 errors are a normal part of the web (Google sees over 5 billion 404 errors per day!), they‘re not something you want your visitors to encounter frequently.

Here‘s why 404 pages are problematic:

They create a jarring, frustrating user experience. Imagine clicking a link expecting helpful information, only to find a dead end!
They cause visitors to leave your site. According to research by Gomez, 88% of users are less likely to return to a website after a poor experience.
They hurt your search engine rankings. Google sees a high 404 error rate as a negative quality signal. Plus, any inbound links to 404 pages on your site are wasted, since search engines can‘t follow broken links to index your content.
They tank conversions. If visitors can‘t find what they need on your site, they certainly won‘t inquire about your services, make a purchase, or subscribe to your newsletter.

Now that you understand the costs of 404 errors, let‘s look at how redirecting them to working pages can mitigate the damage.

Benefits of Redirecting 404 Error Pages

When a visitor lands on a 404 error page, you have two options:

Show them a generic browser 404 page or your themed 404 page template
Automatically redirect them to your homepage or another relevant page

Option 2 is almost always the better choice from a user experience and SEO perspective (though later I‘ll share some creative ways to have your cake and eat it too with optimized 404 pages).

Here‘s why 301 redirects are a smart way to handle 404 errors:

Visitors stay on your site. Instead of bouncing, they seamlessly land on a working page.
You retain the link equity of outdated URLs. When you 301 redirect an old page to a new one, up to 99% of the original page‘s link authority is passed along.
You can funnel traffic to conversion-optimized pages. Why waste clicks on a dead end when you could route visitors to your latest product, sales page, or email signup?

Of course, the exact benefits you‘ll see from 404 redirects depend on the specific pages you redirect and where you send that traffic. Later, I‘ll share some tips for choosing the most relevant redirect destinations.

But first, let‘s walk through how to actually set up 404 redirects in WordPress.

Two Methods to Redirect 404 Errors in WordPress

There are two ways to redirect 404 error pages in WordPress:

With a plugin (the easy way)
Manually with code (the more technical way)

I‘ll show you both, so you can choose the approach that fits your skills and preferences.

Method 1: Redirecting 404s With a Plugin

Using a WordPress plugin is the simplest way to set up 404 redirects, especially if you‘re not comfortable editing your site‘s code.

For this tutorial, we‘ll use the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin, which has a built-in redirection manager. It‘s the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market.

There is a free version of AIOSEO, but we‘ll be using the Pro version since the redirection manager is a premium feature. If you don‘t have a license, you can purchase one here.

Once you‘ve installed and activated the plugin, follow these steps:

Go to All in One SEO > Redirects in your WordPress dashboard.
Click on the "Settings" tab.
Toggle on the "Advanced 404 Settings" option.
Toggle on "Enable default 404 redirect" and select "Home Page" from the dropdown menu.
Click "Save Changes."

That‘s it! Now any time a visitor tries to access a non-existent page on your site, they‘ll automatically be redirected to your homepage.

If you‘d rather redirect 404s to a page other than the homepage, you can enter a custom URL in the "Custom URL" field.

I‘ll share more 404 redirect best practices later. But first, let‘s look at how to set this up without a plugin.

Method 2: Redirecting 404s Manually With Code

If you‘re comfortable editing your WordPress theme files, you can redirect 404 errors using PHP code.

Warning: Before attempting this method, it‘s a good idea to create a backup of your site. You can use a WordPress backup plugin or your web host‘s backup tool.

To redirect 404s manually, you‘ll need to add a code snippet to your theme‘s 404.php file. Here‘s how:

Connect to your WordPress site via FTP/SFTP or open the file manager in your hosting control panel.
Navigate to your current theme folder (usually /wp-content/themes/your-theme/).
Look for a file named 404.php. If it doesn‘t exist, create a new file and name it 404.php.
Open the 404.php file in a text editor.
Paste the following code at the top of the file:

<?php
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: ".get_bloginfo(‘url‘));
exit();
?>

Save the file.

Now when a visitor lands on a 404 error page, they‘ll be redirected to your site‘s homepage.

If you want to redirect 404s to a specific page instead of the homepage, simply replace get_bloginfo(‘url‘) with the URL of your desired page, like this:

<?php
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently"); 
header("Location: https://yourdomain.com/your-page/");
exit();
?>

Keep in mind that this method will redirect all 404 errors to the same page. If you want more granular control to redirect specific outdated URLs to relevant new pages, it‘s best to use the plugin method.

404 Redirect Best Practices and Tips

As you can see, redirecting 404 pages in WordPress is fairly straightforward. But there‘s more to handling 404 errors strategically than simply funneling everyone to the homepage.

Here are some tips and best practices to get the most out of your 404 redirects:

1. Redirect to relevant pages, not just the homepage.

Whenever possible, it‘s best to redirect outdated URLs to the most relevant live page.

For instance, if you had a popular blog post about a specific topic that you later deleted, don‘t redirect that post‘s URL to the homepage. Redirect it to your latest post on that topic or a related category page.

This helps visitors find what they were originally looking for and keeps them engaged with your site.

2. Regularly monitor your site for 404 errors and set up redirects.

Don‘t just set and forget a catch-all redirect to the homepage. Make a habit of monitoring your site for new 404 errors so you can set up more granular redirects over time.

Some tools that can help you find 404 errors include:

Google Search Console‘s "Coverage" report
Ahrefs‘ "Site Audit" crawler
Screaming Frog SEO Spider

In the All in One SEO plugin, you can also enable 404 error logging under All in One SEO > Redirects > Settings to automatically detect 404s on your site.

Whenever you find a 404 error, decide whether to:

Restore the original page (if the content is still relevant and valuable)
Redirect it to the most relevant live page
Leave it as a 404 (if the content is outdated and not worth redirecting)

3. Create a useful custom 404 page.

Redirecting 404s is helpful, but you can still optimize your 404 page itself to minimize lost traffic.

Instead of relying on the generic browser 404 page, create a custom 404 page template that:

Matches your site‘s branding
Explains what went wrong in plain language
Suggests other pages or resources the visitor might find helpful
Includes a prominent search bar
Provides an easy way to report a broken link

By anticipating visitor needs and giving them a way forward, you can turn 404 errors into opportunities to further engage people on your site.

Check out some examples of great 404 pages for inspiration.

4. Use 301 redirects, not 302s.

When setting up URL redirects, it‘s important to choose the right type of redirect.

301 redirects are permanent and pass almost all link equity from the old URL to the new one. 302 redirects are temporary and don‘t pass link equity.

For almost all cases, 301 redirects are preferable for both SEO and user experience. The only time to use a 302 is if you plan to restore the original page at a different URL in the future (like redirecting a product page while it‘s out of stock).

5. Keep an eye on redirect chains and loops.

Whenever you set up a new redirect, be careful not to create a redirect chain by pointing to a URL that‘s already being redirected.

For example, let‘s say you have three pages:

Page A redirects to Page B
Page B redirects to Page C

This means there‘s a redirect chain from Page A → Page B → Page C. Redirect chains are inefficient for crawlers and can slow down page load times.

It‘s better to update the original redirect to point directly to the final destination (Page A → Page C).

Also watch out for redirect loops, where URL A redirects to URL B, which then redirects back to URL A. This can break your site for visitors.

You can find and fix redirect chains and loops using a tool like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs.

Frequently Asked Questions About 404 Redirects in WordPress

Before we wrap up, let me address some common questions about redirecting 404s in WordPress.

What‘s the difference between a 404 page and a 301 redirect?

A 404 page appears when the requested URL doesn‘t exist on your site. A 301 redirect automatically sends visitors from an outdated URL to a new URL without showing a 404 error.

Should I redirect 404 errors to the homepage or to other pages?

In general, it‘s better for user experience and SEO to redirect 404 errors to the most relevant live page rather than the homepage. But redirecting to the homepage is still better than showing a 404 page.

Will redirecting 404s hurt my SEO?

No, redirecting 404 errors with 301 redirects will actually help your SEO by reclaiming lost link equity and preventing visitors from landing on broken pages. Just be sure to redirect 404s to relevant pages, not unrelated ones.

How do I find 404 errors on my WordPress site?

You can find 404 errors on your WordPress site using Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, or the 404 error logs in the All in One SEO plugin.

How do I create a custom 404 page in WordPress?

To create a custom 404 page in WordPress:

Create a new page template named 404.php in your theme folder.
Add the custom 404 page HTML to the template.
Include a search bar, links to popular content, and an easy way to report broken links.

Turn Your 404 Page Into an Opportunity

I hope this guide helped you understand why 404 errors are bad news and how redirecting them to relevant pages can improve your WordPress site‘s user experience, SEO, and conversion rates.

Remember, even though 404 pages are inevitable, they don‘t have to be a dead end for your visitors. With strategic redirects and a helpful custom 404 page, you can turn errors into opportunities to delight and convert your audience.

If you want to learn more about finding, fixing, and preventing 404 errors on your WordPress site, check out these other resources: