My Website Is Displaying a 404 Error — How Can I Fix It?

A 404 error means a visitor tried to access a page on your website, but the page either doesn’t exist or has moved. It’s one of the most common website issues, especially if your site is growing, changing, or has older links floating around.

What Is a 404 Error?

A 404 error means:

• The visitor’s browser reached your website’s server
• But the server couldn’t find the specific page they were trying to load

These usually happen when:

• A page is deleted or moved
• A link is outdated or mistyped
• A page title was changed, which updated the URL (called the “slug”)
• The site’s permalink structure changed (rare, but possible)

Why 404 Errors Matter

For SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

• Search engines may lower your rankings if lots of broken links are found
• 404s interfere with how your site gets crawled and indexed
• It can look like poor maintenance or outdated content

For Visitors:

• A broken page hurts the user experience
• It can interrupt their journey and reduce trust
• It may cause people to leave without taking action (buying, donating, contacting, etc.)

How to Fix 404 Errors (Step by Step)

Step 1: Find Out What’s Causing the Error

Use Google Search Console

• Go to Google Search Console
• Under Index > Pages, look for items labeled “Not found (404)”

Try an Online Tool

• Broken Link Checker
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider
• Ahrefs Site Audit

These can scan your whole site and flag broken links.

*Cause Inspired can help with any unresolved 404, SEO concerns or needs. Please submit a ticket to request a quote or assistnace.

Step 2: Decide What to Do With Each 404

Here’s how to think through each broken URL:

Step 3: Set Up Redirects Using Pretty Links or Contact Us

There are two ways to redirect a broken URL to a new one:

Option 1: Use Pretty Links

If your site has the Pretty Links plugin installed:

1. Go to Pretty Links in your WordPress dashboard
2. Click “Add New”
3. In the Target URL field, enter the correct, working link
4. In the Pretty Link field, enter the broken URL (just the end part — like /old-page )
5. Set the redirection type to 301 (Permanent)
6. Click Update

This will permanently redirect the broken link to the new one — and it’s a great option if you want to track clicks too.

🔧 Option 2: Have Us Add the Redirect Manually

If you're not sure or don’t have Pretty Links set up, feel free to contact Cause Inspired by submitting a support ticket. We can manually add the redirect to your .htaccess file or server-level config, which is faster and more efficient for long-term use — especially if you have a lot of redirects to manage.

Step 4: Fix Any Internal Links

Don’t just rely on redirects — it’s better to fix the actual link wherever it appears on your site.

• Edit pages, menus, or blog posts that link to the broken URL
• Update them to the correct, working page

This improves both SEO and user experience.

Step 5: Customize Your 404 Page

If your site was built by Cause Inspired, you should already have a built-in 404 page that shows up when visitors land on a broken link.

If you don’t have a custom 404 page yet, or want to update the message or design, please reach out to Cause Inspired and we can help set that up for you.

A helpful 404 page keeps visitors engaged by guiding them back to your important content.

Step 6: Update and Submit Your Sitemap Using Yoast SEO

If you’ve deleted or moved pages, updating your sitemap helps Google find the latest version of your site.

How to find your sitemap URL with Yoast SEO:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to SEO > General (Yoast SEO settings).
3. Click the “Features” tab.
4. Make sure XML sitemaps is enabled (toggle is set to “On”).
5. Click the question mark icon next to XML sitemaps, then click “See the XML sitemap” — this will open your sitemap in a new tab.

The URL in your browser address bar is your sitemap URL (usually something like yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml ).

How to submit your sitemap to Google:

1. Go to Google Search Console.
2. Select your website property.
3. In the left sidebar, click “Sitemaps.”
4. Paste your sitemap URL (everything after your domain, e.g., sitemap_index.xml ) into the “Add a new sitemap” box.
5. Click Submit.

Google will then crawl your sitemap and update its index based on the latest site structure.

If Cause Inspired is already providing SEO services for your site, please reach out to your SEO point of contact and they can handle this for you.