Table of Contents
How To Solve 404 Error Page Not Found?
Error 404 is one of the most common errors complained about by website owners. The presence of this error is certainly annoying because it can ruin your website visitor’s experience.
The good news is that you can overcome Error 404 easily. In this article, we will guide you in learning how to resolve Error 404 to completion.
However, before that, we will discuss what is Error 404 and what are the causes.
What is Error 404 and why does it occur?
Error 404 is a warning that appears when your browser does not find the web page or file being accessed. The content that can be accessed is lost, modified, or damaged.
Error messages like “Error 404 not found” can come from the website script that you have. Another factor, it might be caused by the hosting server where you store website files.
Here are four common causes of Error 404:
1. Incorrect URL entry
The first cause of Error 404 is quite simple, namely typos when writing URLs. For example, you should write www.Bloggerconcept.com to access the official Bloggerconcept website. However, you instead wrote www.Bloggerconcept.com.
2. Caching error
Problems with caching can also cause this error to appear. If the browser you use can’t find the website cache file, an error 404 appears.
3. DNS settings are problematic
Another factor that can cause Error 404 is a problem in your domain that hasn’t been propagated to the Domain Name System (DNS) used. As a result, it appears when you access the website.
4. Problematic plugins or themes
A problematic plugin or theme can cause Error 404. In some cases, a problematic plugin or theme affects your website URL link. If this happens, this error might occur
Make sure you have made a backup!
After knowing some of the causes of Error 404, you can not immediately overcome it just like that. Before implementing how to resolve Error 404, make sure you have backed-up all your website data.
This is done so that you will not lose important data if an error occurs when the process of overcoming Error 404 is running. Already made a website backup? If so, let’s start learning how to deal with Error 404 on WordPress!
5+ Ways to Overcome Error 404 on WordPress
Before applying how to resolve Error 404, we recommend refreshing the website first. Sometimes this error can disappear by itself. Usually, this happens because there is a problem with the hosting service that you are using.
If you’ve refreshed the website many times and the error still appears, then you can apply one of three ways to resolve Error 404 below:
1. Check URL Writing
As explained in the previous section. The cause of 404 errors is sometimes very trivial. Therefore, the solutions offered are also the same.
To avoid 404 errors, try checking the URL’s writing in the address bar. Make sure you aren’t typing in any form. Whether it’s double letters, error writing extensions, or writing punctuation errors.
2. Reload or Refresh the Page
Another easiest way to deal with 404 not found errors is to reload or refresh the webpage. You can do this by pressing the F5 key on the keyboard. Another option is to press the refresh button just to the left of the address bar in the browser.
3. Clean Cache and Browser History
The browser intentionally saves your search traces in the form of a cache. This method helps the browser to work efficiently without the need to download the same information over and over again.
Problems will arise when it turns out the cache is saving a 404-page error. This is what makes you continuously get an error display. Therefore, you need to clear your cache and browser history. This is the solution so that the 404 error display does not reappear.
For example, if you use the Google Chrome browser, you can clear cache and history in the following ways:
- Access the History menu in Settings or Ctrl + H.
- Click the Clear browsing data option.
- Select the time range of data you want to delete.
- Check the Browser history and Cached images and files options.
- Click the Clear data button.
4. Reset WordPress Permalink
The most common factor that causes this error is how WordPress displays the permalink. There are various options for displaying permalinks, from numbered permalinks to postal title permalinks.
Open Permalink Settings
When your website experiences Error 404, the first thing you need to do is reset the permalink. How to reset the permalink quite easily. Open the WordPress dashboard then click the Settings menu > Permalinks. Then the settings will appear as below:
Temporarily Return to Permalink Plain
Whatever type of permalink you used before, return the permalink to Plain default temporarily. Then click Save and the settings page will reload.
After that, restore the settings to the permalink you previously used. Then click Save once more. Voila, you have successfully reset the permalink structure.
Try to access your website again and check whether the error has been successfully resolved.
5. Restore WordPress .htaccess File
Sometimes Error 404 causes you to not be able to access the WordPress dashboard. If this happens, of course, you cannot reset the permalink via the dashboard.
No need to worry because you can still reset the permalink using another method, which is through the .htaccess file. Following are the steps to reset the permalink using the .htaccess file:
First, access the website via FTP. You can use applications such as Filezilla to access the website.
Second, open the WordPress root folder containing the WordPress installation. Usually, this directory is stored in the public_html or www folder, or it can also be named after your website.
Third, enter the folder and look for the .htaccess file.
Fourth, if you use FileZilla, right-click on the .htaccess file and select View / Edit. Then FileZilla will download the file. After that open the .htaccess file using a text editor. Save the file.
Fifth, it’s best not to make any changes if you are not sure or don’t understand coding. You can use the default WordPress .htaccess file code that looks like this
# BEGIN WordPress <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>< IfModule mod_rewrite . c > RewriteEngine OnRewriteEngine On RewriteBase /RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^ index \ .php $ - [L]RewriteRule ^ index \ .php $ - [ L ] RewriteCond% {REQUEST_FILENAME}! -FRewriteCond % { REQUEST_FILENAME } ! - f RewriteCond% {REQUEST_FILENAME}! -DRewriteCond % { REQUEST_FILENAME } ! - d RewriteRule. /index.php [L]RewriteRule . / index . php [ L ] </IfModule></ ifmodule > # END WordPress# END WordPress
Sixth, change the file .htaccess long to file .htaccess default above. Done, you have successfully reset the permalink manually!
6. Disable Themes and Plugins
As mentioned earlier, the problematic theme or plugin can affect your website’s URL structure. If you have applied two ways to resolve Error 404 above and it didn’t work, the last way is to deactivate the plugin and theme.
How to Deactivate Themes and Plugins Via Dashboard
First, disable all plugins. You can disable the plugin by opening the Plugins > Installed Plugins menu. Then check all plugins and apply Bulk Actions, select Deactivate.
If Error 404 does not appear, it means that there is one plugin that caused the error.
Second, activate the plugins one by one to check which plugins are causing the error. If you activate one plugin and the error reappears, it means the plugin is causing Error 404 to appear.
Third, you can try updating the problematic plugin. It could be that the plugin caused an error because it wasn’t updated. However, if it has been updated and the error still appears, uninstall the plugin and look for other alternatives.
Fourth, if it turns out that it is not the plugin that caused Error 404, you can switch to the theme. Change the theme that you are using with another theme. If the error does not reappear meaning, your theme is the cause of Error 404. We recommend that you change your theme if it is proven to produce an error.
How to Deactivate Themes and Plugins Via FTP
Sometimes Error 404 results in you not being able to access the WordPress dashboard. If this happens, you must access WordPress in other ways, one of which is via FTP.
You can use FileZilla to disable themes and plugins. Here are the steps:
First , open the public_html / wp-content directory .
Second, you will find the plugins and themes folder in it
Third, in the plugins folder, you will see the folder of each plugin that you have installed. After that, rename the plugin to disable it. You can replace it with the name jetpack. disabled, for example.
Fourth, by changing the folder name, the plugin is automatically disabled. Try to access the website, if an error still appears. If not, that means the plugin that you disabled is the cause of the error.
Fifth, if all plugins have been deactivated and errors still appear, you can start switching to themes. Just like when disabling a plugin, you only need to change the name of the theme folder you are using.
Sixth, after the theme is deactivated, WordPress automatically uses the default WordPress theme. Then check your website if the error has disappeared. If the error disappears, it means your theme is the problem.
Conclusion
This error does look simple but can cause harm to your website. Visitors cannot find the page they want. As a result, website traffic can decrease. With three ways to resolve Error 404 above, you can solve the problem as soon as possible. As a result, you can avoid losing website traffic.
Thus this was an article about how to overcome the 404 error in WordPress. If you need a guide to overcome other errors in WordPress.
