You’ve Been 404’ed: 6 Creative Examples For How To Optimize Your 404 Error Pages

by Jessica Malnik | Featured Contributor

Traditionally, a 404 error page is a dead end. A visitor to your site couldn’t find what they were looking for. However, this is also the ideal page to fine tune on your site. With the right opt-in message, you can not only turn a potentially bad experience around, but you can also wind up directing them back to where you want them to go. There’s no better way to show this than through some carefully curated examples. Here’s 6 brands that do this really well

1. Fathead

Fathead does a great job of incorporating  some light humor on their 404 page. Then, they try and give you a path back to what you were looking for through some a search box and links to their shop categories.

2. Cards Against Humanity 

In this case, Cards Against Humanity uses one clever line of copy and an “apologize” button. The “apologize button” is a fun ploy to get you back to their homepage and hopefully buying one of their card decks.

3. Moosejaw

Moosejaw is a super fun outdoor lifestyle brand. They actually refer to their 404 page as their “El Dorado Page.” Then, give a bunch of options for how you can still shop despite the mishap. They even take that a step further and encourage anyone who can’t find what they are looking for to reach out on live chat.

4. Get Response

This is just really smart marketing. GetResponse, an email marketing platform, not only acknowledges you probably didn’t find what you are looking with an awesome robot/monster image. They take it a step further and use it as a demand gen tactic. They give a compelling reason why you should consider them and then offer a link to their free trial page.

5. Jetblue

When you go to jetblue.com, you are probably looking to do one of three things: book a flight, manage your flight or get your boarding pass. So, that’s exactly the options they give you if you happen to land on the sad 404 page.

6. Github

Just like Fathead, Github uses a fun, on-brand image along with links to search for what they are looking for, sign in, and contact support.

What’s the most creative use of a 404 page that you have seen? Let’s get the discussion rolling in the comment section below. 

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Jessica Malnik is a community builder, content creator and an avid blogger.  She blogs regularly on her own blog, jessicamalnik.com. Her blog focuses on community management, social media, PR and a little bit of marketing.

Her work has been featured in a variety of online sites and publications, including Convince and Convert, PR Daily, Spin Sucks, SocialFresh, 12Most and TheCommunityManager.com

You can also connect with her on Twitter, Instagram or by following her blog here. 

Jessica Malnik