Why do I get a "404 - Page not found" error?

Why do I get a "404 - Page not found" error?

Overview

A 404 error is the website code that signifies that the requested page could not be found.

The most common reason for this is when a Page link is updated, but that change hasn't been reflected in the Signposting Page.

Investigate the URLs

In this example, a link in a Signposting Page is going to 404 error:


If I look in the URL bar, I can see that the URL is:
https://mappingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk/other-documents-and-policies

Now, let's go to the Pages section in the Admin Panel to see if that matches the actual page name.


And I can see that the URL for the page is actually:
https://mappingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk/documents-and-policies

So that's the reason for the 404 error.

To solve this;
  1. Go back to the Signposting Page
  2. Click the pencil icon next to the link in question
  3.  
  4. Change the URL so it matches the Page. In this case, removing the "other-" bit.
  5.  
  6. Click Update
  7.  
  8. Go up to the top of the Signposting Page and click Update 

The link will now work.

    • Related Articles

    • Website link not working

      If you've saved a link to the website and you're now getting a 404 Page not Found error message, check that the link is correct; the permalink may have been updated. If you've edited the permalink in the page, have you updated this in the menu? See ...

    • Adding skip-links to the top of your page

      Overview A skip-link is a link that, when clicked, takes the visitor to a specific part of a page. It doesn't reload the page, just skips you down to the bit you want. Where can I apply Skip Links? You can add Skip Links to any Page, News Article or ...

    • I want to change Councillors and Staff page title

      The Councillors and Staff page is one of the fixed template items that is built into the website. This cannot be changed on a site by site basis. If you've got a suggestion for what you think this should be, do let us know and if we get a consensus, ...

    • Updating the Permalink

      Overview You may wish to change the title on a page in which case it's good practice to also change the permalink; this is the address of that page that's used in the menu to direct people to the right place. Method In the dashboard, go to pages and ...

    • Adding a Title to a Post

      Overview Titles can be added to: News Articles Pages Events Entering your title Replace the text "News Article Title Here" "Page Name Here" etc with your title. Keep this concise, ideally less than 60 characters (or 7 words). Accessibility Hint: Do ...