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What does 404 error page mean? It’s just a page that shows up when user tries to browse the page that doesn’t seems to exist anymore – link may be broken, moved, or even it has never existed and never will. Popular and good looking pages will always have good 404 error pages both from creative and functional point of view. Why? – if user hits such error page, it should do the best to help reader find what he is searching for, otherwise he will go away and may never come back.
Let’s check some really well done error pages to get inspiration for our own creative 404 page?
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Valters is 17 years old freelancer from Latvia. His experience in web-building is about 3 years - PHP, xHTML, CSS. He enjoys web-building with different languages. You can follow him on Twitter.
Monday, February 13th, 2012 18:45
Some of these are great. I’ve just recently moved my blog address and decided to do something more creative with all the broken links this has created.
That being said, my use is a little different as my whole site’s one big 404 now.
Monday, February 13th, 2012 20:50
hehe, great idea, Twitter computers flying around! love it!!!
Friday, October 28th, 2011 11:31
It’s great to see how much effort is put into 404 pages.
Graphics and design are important for the creative side of a page, but the user should get some helpful info too.
Not everyone knows what a 404 means.
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 08:04
Thanks for sharing the nice collections.
I thought of sharing my simple page, too.
Thursday, February 17th, 2011 22:24
tehee! I like the ones from Css-tricks ^.^
thanks for a very inspiring round up.
Thursday, October 14th, 2010 20:07
We really think our 404 is the coolest and funniest 404, please check it out:
http://www.kitedigital.co.uk/404
Monday, June 14th, 2010 20:04
The Blue Daniel one is awesome, I remember seeing this one some time ago, it is so lifelike :)
Friday, June 4th, 2010 01:20
Ha, I really like the robot and the Homer Simpson inspired ones!
Friday, May 28th, 2010 06:23
Really great post. I love your site and all inspiration examples you give for us, web designers. I wish to share this beauty example of 404 pages, with all your users: http://www.greensewn.com/404a
All the best and keep with your inspiration.
Francisco
Friday, May 21st, 2010 22:43
Great collections. I have seen some of these before, but Jayelgibson one and several the others are new ones I haven’t seen before.
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 19:33
nice :)
See this page too:
http://www.ortakantin.com/404
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 09:01
Great post guys :) You managed to find some very interesting pages. Take a look at http://www.rainfall.ro/404/ ;) Thanks ;)
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 00:04
Nice compilation, check this also if you have time.
thanx
http://www.fmbdesign.com/404
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 22:49
I have to say that however clever some of these may be, it is better to set up redirects for pages that no longer exist.
I would also say that some of these people can get into a lot of trouble by using licensed character art on their websites (ie, Homer Simpson, Plankton, etc) unless they have a licensing agreement with the respective production companies. I highly doubt they do, and even if they did, those licensors need to approve any artwork before it would be used in the intended manner. So, just a heads up for anyone thinking about doing something like that…you could get a lawsuit slapped on you, in particular if your website produces income for you.
On top of that, simply plopping an image of Homer Simpson on a 404 page doesn’t make it creative.
I also do not understand why web designers continue to put the text “404″ on a 404 page? The average web user has no idea what any web error codes mean, or that that even is a web error code. It is completely unnecessary.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 16:04
Some new ones I have seen, the hootesuite one is clever
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:52
Nice collection.. What do you guys think of my 404 page? :)
Here is a link:
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 15:39
Nice, clean, and simple. I like it.
A suggestion though, if I may.. Rather than letting defunct links hit your 404 page, and linking from there to the old version of your site, you would probably be better off setting up 301s to redirect to the new working url.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:49
I can’t remember the site, but they had a great 404 page that had a picture of a cat being attacked by servers. If someone remembers, let me know.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 20:27
Take a look at my site (if you want). Shameless self plug: http://gregdougherty.com/404
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:14
interesting comment ;D definitely I came there looking for Home Alone trailer ;D
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 12:29
I’ve found Nokia’s 404 recently, which is not a great design, but a nice example for connecting from an 404 error to some marketing msg: http://www.nokia.com/404
It must be quite new, as free navigation is something that was announced recently.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 17:09
Great list guys! Check out mine as well: http://www.tkdesigns.tv/404
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 15:52
How many times have we seen this post around the design circles?
And I love how the two 404 pages with Homer Simpson are right next to each other in the “Unique” 404 pages post.
Cool designs, sad excuse for an article.
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:16
of course you have a point, with such huge competition it’s really hard to offer something fresh, unseen and original! We try our best though and hope you still recognize many good examples making this post valuable.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:07
I like it !
See this page too : http://mamethoderangement.com/404.html
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:06
Nice 404 images!!!
Take a look at this 404 link http://www.ciaroscuro.com/404
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:05
“Oh snaaaap!”
those kind of reviews are good things to make the people more concerned about to create a personalized 404 error page.
I really like the 404 pages heheheh
btw, check mine http://www.niconlyone.com/error/404.html
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:16
yes, 404 pages are great way to show off designer skills and creativity!
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:00
Nice compilation. I think a 404 shall ever have a search bar and recommendet alternative topics on it. Here is another funny one from sixtblog: http://www.sixtblog.co.uk/lol
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 15:46
My site runs a search automatically on the keywords in the url or from your google/yahoo/etc search that led to landing on a non-working page. It also includes the search box, so you could enter in a different search term.
It will also auto-redirect to a working page, if the auto search that runs on a 404 error only returns a single result.
Of course it’s mostly useless at the moment since my site as it exists currently has virtually no content, but when I eventually get around to blogging it will be useful. :)
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 05:20
This is a great collection. Truly inspired me!!!!!
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 10:13
Hi,
Great post, Some very creative ideas. I came across one recently which I thought was quite good. http://www.all4bikers.com/something, made me chuckle anyway.
Keep up the great posts.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 03:06
I hate to be a downer but I’ve seen all of these before on other posts.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 09:01
There are some really creative examples there. Thanks for the post! Really inspiring!
Cheers,
James
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 05:41
wow excellent rap up i will do one on my website…
thank you Valter now i will also fallow you on Twitter
Monday, May 17th, 2010 23:21
Great list of 404 pages ;),
though I’ve seen most of the pages already :p
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 00:32
I love these. Many I have seen already, but a few are new. Good list overall. I employed a little humor in some block pages here at my day job. A little creativity and wit goes a long way in what could normally be considered boring pages.
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Sumeet Chawla
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:52
Nice collection.. What do you guys think of my 404 page? :)
Here is a link:
http://www.code-pal.com/404page :D
Will
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 15:39
Nice, clean, and simple. I like it.
A suggestion though, if I may.. Rather than letting defunct links hit your 404 page, and linking from there to the old version of your site, you would probably be better off setting up 301s to redirect to the new working url.
ngassmann
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 00:32
I love these. Many I have seen already, but a few are new. Good list overall. I employed a little humor in some block pages here at my day job. A little creativity and wit goes a long way in what could normally be considered boring pages.
Cerbere
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:08
Very creatives and funny pages!
Dagny Taggart
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 15:52
How many times have we seen this post around the design circles?
And I love how the two 404 pages with Homer Simpson are right next to each other in the “Unique” 404 pages post.
Cool designs, sad excuse for an article.
Dainis Graveris
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:16
of course you have a point, with such huge competition it’s really hard to offer something fresh, unseen and original! We try our best though and hope you still recognize many good examples making this post valuable.
Tedi
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 17:09
Great list guys! Check out mine as well: http://www.tkdesigns.tv/404
Joe Fitzsimmons
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:49
I can’t remember the site, but they had a great 404 page that had a picture of a cat being attacked by servers. If someone remembers, let me know.
Greg
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 20:27
Take a look at my site (if you want). Shameless self plug: http://gregdougherty.com/404
Dainis Graveris
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:14
interesting comment ;D definitely I came there looking for Home Alone trailer ;D
Amby
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 12:29
I’ve found Nokia’s 404 recently, which is not a great design, but a nice example for connecting from an 404 error to some marketing msg: http://www.nokia.com/404
It must be quite new, as free navigation is something that was announced recently.
adé
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:07
I like it !
See this page too : http://mamethoderangement.com/404.html
Prabhu.c
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:06
Nice 404 images!!!
Take a look at this 404 link http://www.ciaroscuro.com/404
inspirationfeed
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 03:06
I hate to be a downer but I’ve seen all of these before on other posts.
James
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 09:01
There are some really creative examples there. Thanks for the post! Really inspiring!
Cheers,
James
martinLachapelle
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 05:41
wow excellent rap up i will do one on my website…
thank you Valter now i will also fallow you on Twitter
Ari Suardiyanti
Monday, May 17th, 2010 23:21
Great list of 404 pages ;),
though I’ve seen most of the pages already :p
Daniel Winnard
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 10:13
Hi,
Great post, Some very creative ideas. I came across one recently which I thought was quite good. http://www.all4bikers.com/something, made me chuckle anyway.
Keep up the great posts.
dakshina
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 05:20
This is a great collection. Truly inspired me!!!!!
NicOnlyOne
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:05
“Oh snaaaap!”
those kind of reviews are good things to make the people more concerned about to create a personalized 404 error page.
I really like the 404 pages heheheh
btw, check mine http://www.niconlyone.com/error/404.html
Dainis Graveris
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:16
yes, 404 pages are great way to show off designer skills and creativity!
benjamin
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:00
Nice compilation. I think a 404 shall ever have a search bar and recommendet alternative topics on it. Here is another funny one from sixtblog: http://www.sixtblog.co.uk/lol
Will
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 15:46
My site runs a search automatically on the keywords in the url or from your google/yahoo/etc search that led to landing on a non-working page. It also includes the search box, so you could enter in a different search term.
It will also auto-redirect to a working page, if the auto search that runs on a 404 error only returns a single result.
Of course it’s mostly useless at the moment since my site as it exists currently has virtually no content, but when I eventually get around to blogging it will be useful. :)
adelacreative
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 12:23
Very cool and inspiring!
Arnaud
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 12:17
A great example of french 404 page :
http://wibox.fr/404
McConnell Group
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 16:04
Some new ones I have seen, the hootesuite one is clever
Tim
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 22:49
I have to say that however clever some of these may be, it is better to set up redirects for pages that no longer exist.
I would also say that some of these people can get into a lot of trouble by using licensed character art on their websites (ie, Homer Simpson, Plankton, etc) unless they have a licensing agreement with the respective production companies. I highly doubt they do, and even if they did, those licensors need to approve any artwork before it would be used in the intended manner. So, just a heads up for anyone thinking about doing something like that…you could get a lawsuit slapped on you, in particular if your website produces income for you.
On top of that, simply plopping an image of Homer Simpson on a 404 page doesn’t make it creative.
I also do not understand why web designers continue to put the text “404″ on a 404 page? The average web user has no idea what any web error codes mean, or that that even is a web error code. It is completely unnecessary.
Jack Moore
Thursday, October 14th, 2010 20:07
We really think our 404 is the coolest and funniest 404, please check it out:
http://www.kitedigital.co.uk/404
Dainis Graveris
Friday, October 15th, 2010 14:47
ah nice!!! cool share!
Geoff Jackson
Monday, June 14th, 2010 20:04
The Blue Daniel one is awesome, I remember seeing this one some time ago, it is so lifelike :)
Jason
Friday, June 4th, 2010 01:20
Ha, I really like the robot and the Homer Simpson inspired ones!
Rean John Uehara
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 07:08
Star Wars inspired 404: https://github.com/404
Rain
Thursday, February 17th, 2011 22:24
tehee! I like the ones from Css-tricks ^.^
thanks for a very inspiring round up.
jeff szuc
Monday, February 13th, 2012 18:45
Some of these are great. I’ve just recently moved my blog address and decided to do something more creative with all the broken links this has created.
That being said, my use is a little different as my whole site’s one big 404 now.
Dainis Graveris
Monday, February 13th, 2012 20:50
hehe, great idea, Twitter computers flying around! love it!!!
otto
Friday, October 28th, 2011 11:31
It’s great to see how much effort is put into 404 pages.
Graphics and design are important for the creative side of a page, but the user should get some helpful info too.
Not everyone knows what a 404 means.
Andrew
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 08:04
Thanks for sharing the nice collections.
I thought of sharing my simple page, too.
Francisco Mato
Friday, May 28th, 2010 06:23
Really great post. I love your site and all inspiration examples you give for us, web designers. I wish to share this beauty example of 404 pages, with all your users: http://www.greensewn.com/404a
All the best and keep with your inspiration.
Francisco
Dainis Graveris
Friday, May 28th, 2010 07:38
Nice addition! Thanks for thumbs up Francisco!
FMB
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 00:04
Nice compilation, check this also if you have time.
thanx
http://www.fmbdesign.com/404
Dainis Graveris
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 08:13
looks interesting, approved! :)
Dalibor Vasiljevic
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 09:01
Great post guys :) You managed to find some very interesting pages. Take a look at http://www.rainfall.ro/404/ ;) Thanks ;)
Nick
Friday, May 28th, 2010 01:27
My cinematic 404 page :P
http://www.nikosk.com/404
JC Johnston
Friday, May 21st, 2010 22:43
Great collections. I have seen some of these before, but Jayelgibson one and several the others are new ones I haven’t seen before.
Sbuster
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 19:28
practic 404 page http://hoztdesigns.co.cc/404
turgay temir
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 19:33
nice :)
See this page too:
http://www.ortakantin.com/404