Many websites experience frequent 404 errors when visitors click on broken links or enter incorrect URLs.
Redirecting 404 errors back to the homepage of your site can help ensure visitors find what they are searching for quickly and easily. Simply modify your htaccess file.
.htaccess
Every time a visitor to your website attempts to access an unexisting page, the web server sends back an HTTP status code or message informing their browser of what happened and providing helpful advice as to how they should proceed. One of the most frequent of these errors is known as 404 page not found error (this could have been caused by broken links, moving of page location or even never existing in first place).
There are ways around this and make your website more user friendly, such as plugins like WP 301 Redirect. Alternatively, more flexible methods include using an htaccess file on your server that contains configuration settings to control how the web server behaves; they are very versatile files used for password protecting directories, IP blocking, site-wide redirections, SSL support disabling downloaders/rippers etc.
How to Generate a 404 Error with Htaccess An.htaccess file is a hidden configuration file used by Apache web servers to alter their behavior, such as by setting directives that are executed when reading from its file.
Create an htaccess file through either the front-end of your web host’s cPanel, although dedicated FTP clients may make this easier. After logging in to the front-end of your host, access File Manager and toggle hidden file visibility settings so you can edit htaccess directly.
Simply put, htaccess is a configuration file that can be added to any directory on your website and used to configure global configurations that apply across your entire website. It is very flexible and commonly employed for URL redirection, security measures and SEO optimization purposes.
How to Prevent a 404 Redirect in htaccess
Your htaccess file might display an unexpected 404 error due to incorrect settings for directives or the AllowOverride setting not being correctly set. To rectify this situation, referring to your directive’s documentation or double checking that AllowOverride settings have been configured as intended is key in rectifying it.
Redirecting Traffic From HTTP To HTTPS with Htaccess
Htaccess provides an easy and quick solution for switching your website from an HTTP version to HTTPS version, providing search engine optimization (SEO) benefits as Google gives more weight to websites secured with SSL certificates; additionally it also enhances security and privacy for website users visiting your site. To convert, add this line in your.htaccess file: