8 404 Page Tips to Prevent Your Visitors from Exiting Your Website

Your visitors may exit your website immediately due to a number of reasons. However, it's not always your fault.

Sometimes, it may happen due to reasons like your visitors incorrectly typing the URL or clicking broken links.

It doesn't matter why it happens. What matters is that seeing a 404 error may affect their experience.

When your visitors are unable to find the information they seek, it can be frustrating for them, and they may consider exiting your site.

This may cost you an opportunity to capture quality leads for your sales funnel and affect the profitability of your business.

However, you can fix this issue by creating an interactive 404 page that may convince your visitors to stay and keep exploring your content.

What is a 404 Error?

Before we dive into the recommendations for creating an interactive 404 page, let's talk about the error first.

When you're trying to find certain information on a website and the website can't locate it for you, it will show you a 404 error. This means that the page you want to visit is either currently unavailable or doesn't exist.

A common mistake many websites make when fixing 404 errors is that they don't put much thought behind their 404 pages. That's why we mostly see generic or bland 404 pages with little or no information available on them.

This may cause more harm than good and strip you of the ability to engage your target audience.

So, it's highly recommended that you spice things up to keep your visitors engaged and prevent them from exiting your website.

Here's how you can do that:

1. Be Funny

Leveraging humor may be a great way to engage your visitors through your 404 page. Your visitors are likely irritated when they land on your 404 page due to the fact that they couldn't find the information they sought.

So, make it up to them by bringing a smile to their faces. Come up with a witty copy or crack a joke to make them feel better.

This will not only reduce the frustration of your visitors but can also make your pages stand out from mainstream 404 pages.

2. Help Visitors Navigate Your Site

People visit your site to find answers to their questions and access information that piques their interest.

So, it's best to offer them a seamless navigation experience even after they've somehow landed on a 404 page.

Adding links to different website categories or navigation buttons to your 404 page may serve as an excellent strategy and help your visitors access relevant information.

It may lead them to decide to stay and keep exploring your content, which may facilitate the lead generation process.

3. Allow Visitors to Look for Information

Adding navigation links to your 404 page may be a great strategy. However, you should also consider allowing your visitors to find information themselves. This can be done by adding a search bar to your 404 page.

A search bar enables your visitors to find pages best suited to their preferences by simply entering relevant keywords.

So, even after a setback that led your visitors to land on a 404 page, they may continue exploring your website for the information they want.

4. Apologize for Inconvenience

Sometimes, all it takes is a little empathy to bond with your target audience and form lasting relationships with them.

A simple apology can pave the way for you to make things right with your target audience and earn their respect in the process.

Landing on a 404 page can be a frustrating experience for your visitors. So, if you apologize for the inconvenience caused, they may consider sticking around.

5. Leverage Visual Content

Leveraging visual content can be a great strategy to engage your visitors through your 404 page.

Our brains are wired to process visual content, like images, up to 60,000 times faster than text. So, making your 404 page visually appealing may come in handy and prevent your visitors from exiting your site.

You can add images, videos, GIFs, and even memes to your 404 page. As long as the content resonates with your brand, illustrating it visually may work wonders for you.

6. Gamify Your Page

Gamifying your 404 page is an excellent tactic to engage your visitors and make them stay on your website.

Many leading brands around the globe have been doing this already. If anything, this has helped them generate more traction.

Encountering a 404 error can be annoying. However, with gamification, you can turn things around and transform the negative experience of your visitors into a positive one.

This may help you get more eyeballs and increase the likelihood of your visitors returning to your website.

7. Encourage Newsletter Subscription

Businesses often prioritize growing an email list as soon as visitors land on their websites. While they may have different pages to encourage newsletter subscriptions, it's not viable to consider 404 pages an exception.

A visitor may never return to your website after encountering a 404 error. However, if they are a part of your email list, you can reach out to them later and make them want to reconsider visiting your site.

8. Provide Recommendations

Recommending your pillar content may serve as an excellent way to engage your target audience and make their stay on your site a bit longer.

You can encourage your visitors to explore different articles or blogs published and prevent them from exiting your website.

You never know that the posts you recommend may actually align with your audience's interests and make their visit worthwhile.

Final Words

There you have it: the eight tips for your 404 page that may help you prevent visitors from exiting your website.

The provided recommendations may help you retain your visitors and serve as excellent tactics to foster engagement.