php website settings 404 page

With the popularity of the Internet, more and more websites have been created. However, when developing a website, the 404 page is a detail that is easily overlooked. Without the correct 404 page setup, users will not get any feedback when they try to access an invalid URL, which can lead to user churn and a drop in search engine rankings. This article will introduce how to set up a 404 page in a PHP website.

1. What is a 404 page?

404 page means that when a user accesses a page that does not exist, the browser will receive a 404 response code returned by the server. At this time, the browser will display an error message by default, telling the user that the page being accessed does not exist. This page is the 404 page. Its purpose is to let users know that they have not found the page they are looking for and to provide some guidance to help them find what they are looking for.

2. Why do we need to set up the 404 page correctly?

The reason for setting up the 404 page correctly is simple: to improve the user experience. If a user encounters a 404 error when visiting your site, but no feedback is given on the page, the user may become confused or angry and may leave your site or move to a competitor site. Properly setting up a 404 page can improve the user experience by letting users know they didn't find the page they were looking for and offering help.

3. Steps for setting up a 404 page on a PHP website

The following are the steps for setting up a 404 page on a PHP website:

1. Create a 404 page

First, you need to create a 404 page. This page can be any type of page, such as HTML, PHP, ASP, etc. This page should provide some useful information, such as "The page you requested does not exist", "Please check whether the URL you entered is correct", "Please return to the homepage or contact the administrator for help".

2. Setting up the .htaccess file

On your web server, locate the .htaccess file in your web directory. If your server does not have a .htaccess file, you can create a new file and upload it to the server. If you don't know how to create an .htaccess file, please refer to the relevant documentation.

Add the following lines in the .htaccess file to set up the 404 page:

ErrorDocument 404 /404.php

Where, 404.php is the one you created in the first step The file name of the 404 page. Note that the path may need to be adjusted based on your server settings.

3. Testing

After saving the .htaccess file and uploading the 404 page, you can test whether the 404 page is set up correctly. Just enter a non-existent URL into your browser and see if the browser displays the 404 page you created in the first step.

4. Set up other types of error pages

In addition to the 404 page, you may also need to set up pages for other types of errors. The following are some common error types:

500 Internal Server Error: The server has encountered a problem that cannot be handled and needs to return a 500 status code. For server errors, you may want to create a page that tells the user that the problem is being resolved and asks the user to try again later.

403 Forbidden: When the page requested by the user does not have sufficient permissions or access is denied, the server will return a 403 status code. For this error, you may want to create a page that explains why the user is denied access and how the user can get the access they need.

503 Service Unavailable: When the server is overloaded or under maintenance, the server may return a 503 status code. For this error, you may want to create a page to tell users that the service is currently unavailable and provide some useful information such as when maintenance will end.

In the .htaccess file, you can use the following code to set up other types of error pages:

ErrorDocument 500 /500.html
ErrorDocument 403 /403.html
ErrorDocument 503 /503.html

Where, 500.html, 403.html, and 503.html are the file names of the corresponding pages you create for each error type.

5. Summary

Correctly setting up the 404 page is crucial to improving user experience and search engine rankings. By setting up your .htaccess file correctly and creating a helpful 404 page, you can let users know they don't find what they're looking for and provide guidance to help them find what they're looking for. If your site requires other types of error pages, use the coding guidelines above to set them up.

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