A translation article from the pen of Rob Bowen that describes the five most important elements that a successful (404) error page should contain.
404 pages tend to be one of the most overlook aspects of web design, and if they’re not neglect, you can clearly see the trend in their designs – to create something fun, with the authors hoping that a touch of humor will ease the user’s irritation from missing information.
Many designers settle for a default
404 page, believing that the rest of their scheme is completely foolproof, never fails, so they don’t ne a backup plan. In some places, a joke is told, in others, this page serves as a small web experiment. There’s nothing wrong with spicing up a proposal with a little humor if that’s what the site calls for. And since fun and functionality are not mutually exclusive, a good designer will also always ensure that their users find their way to the information they were originally looking for.
The article was translat with the kind uk mobile phone number data permission of webdesignerdepot.com . The original text of the article (EN) can be found here: 5 essential elements of a successful 404 error page .
1) Make a nice custom error message
The most important part of a 404 page is from links on other websites the error message. An error message including an apology and some helpful suggestions should be front and center. Try to explain in some way what the unpleasant happen, for example: “The link you click may not be spell correctly” or “The post you are looking for may have already been remov”. How you express yourself is very important, so choose your speaking style carefully.
Users tend to be sensitive creatures
Especially when things don’t go the way they expect. The blame for the inconvenience or difficulties is often immiately plac on us, even though we did not place the link that brought them to our site, we even have nothing to do with it. The relationship with the user begins to show a certain nervousness. That is why it is so important in what spirit and tone we will express ourselves. We want to get the user fully on our side again, not stress them cz lists out. Therefore, we must be very careful not to place even a shadow of blame on them in the phrases we choose.