Custom 404 pages for stores: return a real 404 and help shoppers back in
A missing page should return a real 404 status and offer a way back into the store. See why soft 404s hurt and what a good error page includes.
2 min read
Area
Store discovery
Severity
Low
Fix effort
Small
Stores failing
0%
Of 35 stores we scanned where this check applies, 0% fail it and 86% pass. See all benchmarks.
When a visitor requests a page that does not exist, your store should return a genuine 404 status and show a helpful page with search and links back into the catalogue. A page that says "not found" but returns a 200 status is called a soft 404, and it confuses search engines.
Why it matters
Dead links happen: discontinued products, old campaign URLs, typos. A shopper who lands on a blank error leaves, while one who lands on a page with search and popular collections often keeps shopping. For search engines, the correct status code tells them to drop the old address and stop wasting crawl effort.
What the audit looks at
The audit checks that a missing page returns a real 404 and offers a way back into the store.
What usually causes it
- A theme or plugin that redirects every missing URL to the home page
- A custom error page that returns a 200 status
- A bare error page with no navigation or search
- Redirect rules that catch everything and hide real broken links
How to fix it
Make missing addresses return a true 404 and show shoppers a way back. The effort is small, usually a setting or a paste and under 30 minutes.
- Return status 404 (not 200) for addresses that do not exist.
- Add a search box, links to your main categories and a link home to the 404 page.
On Shopify
- Shopify returns a real 404 already. Edit templates/404.json in the theme editor to add search and collection links.
On WooCommerce
- Check a missing address returns 404, not a redirect to the home page (some SEO and cache plugins do this).
- Edit 404.php in your child theme to add search and category links.
How to check it yourself
- Visit yourstore.com/this-page-does-not-exist-test and read the page.
- Open DevTools, go to Network, and check the status code of that request.
- Confirm the page offers search, the main menu or links to popular collections.
Frequently asked questions
Should discontinued products redirect or return 404?
If a close replacement exists, redirect to it. If nothing similar exists, a 404 or 410 is honest and fine.
What is a soft 404?
A page that shows an error message but returns a success status. Google may flag it in Search Console as a soft 404.
Related checks
Check your own store
See whether your store passes this check
Paste your store URL. The audit loads your pages in a real browser and shows the result for this check with the evidence behind it.