Handling 404s and Broken Links
A 404 error means a page could not be found. The odd 404 is normal and harmless, but broken links scattered across your site frustrate visitors, waste crawl budget and can quietly erode the trust both users and search engines place in you.
Managing them is routine maintenance that keeps your site healthy, your visitors happy and your link equity intact.
When to Redirect and When to Leave It
Not every missing page needs a redirect, and over-redirecting can be as messy as ignoring the problem.
- If a page moved, 301-redirect it to the new location.
- If a relevant replacement exists, redirect to that.
- If the page is genuinely gone with no equivalent, let it return a clean 404.
A Helpful 404 Page
When visitors do hit a dead end, a friendly custom 404 page with a search box and links back to key sections rescues the visit. It turns a frustrating moment into a second chance to keep someone on the site.
Finding Broken Links
Broken links accumulate naturally as pages move and external sites change. We use Search Console and crawling tools to surface them regularly, then fix the internal ones at source and update or remove links to external pages that have disappeared.
If you need a hand with any of this, your Progressive Robot delivery team is ready to help. Raise a ticket from the Support area of your client portal or speak to your account manager and we will guide you through the next steps.