How do I fix a 404 with a 301

[BenRWoodard]

I understand the need for fixing 404's but I have yet to have a serious walkthrough of how to set up a 301.  From all the talk on the forums and such I'm pretty sure this is easy but I've just never done it before and I could really use a walk through.

Thanks

[IM_Learner]

404 error is rendered when the resource requested is not found. You can do 2 things:

• Implement 301 redirect to the new resource if it is related. The kind of redirect will depend upon the type of server your website is hosted on.
• If 301 redirect is not possible on all the pages (it's understandable), a custom 404 page is a worthy option. It will avoid unnecessary loss of visitors from your site as they tend to get pissed with the default 404 page. It will not only help you retain the visitors but also redirect them to the important pages of your website. E.g.Custom 404 Page 

Hope it helps.

Regards

[AlanMosley]

I use .net when i build sites, iuse the Application_Error method to see if the error was a 404 tthen 301 to my home page. so any broken link 301 to my home page

[charliesaidthat]

Hi Ben,

You probably want to redirect a single page if it is going to a 404. In which case you probably just want add code into the header of the problem page. Whilst you are at it, it might be worth checking that your non-www. pages are forwarding to the www versions. (http://exampledomain.com -> http://www.exampledomain.com)

PHP Redirect

Header( "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently" ); 
Header( "Location: http://www.exampledomain.com" ); 
?>

Htaccess 301 Redirect (non-www. to www.)

Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.exampledomain.com$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.exampledomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Custom 404 Page

I would also suggest a custom 404 page with links to your most popular pages, search and a back button.

Hope this helps.

C

[Andy.Drinkwater]

You might find some additional help and code snippets here

Regards,

Andy

[KeriMorgret]

Hi Ben,

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