Want to see every 404 error on your site and know which ones are actually worth redirecting?
Every 404 costs you a visitor and redirecting them all to your homepage isn’t the fix.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to find your 404s, decide which ones deserve a redirect, and set them up without code.
Here’s everything we’ll cover in this article:
Track 404 Errors in WordPress
The first step to fixing a 404 error is finding out which pages are broken. We recommend following these two methods to find broken links.
Find the 404s Googlebot Hit With Google Search Console
Google Search Console shows you the exact URLs Googlebot tried to crawl and couldn’t find. This is different from the 404s your own visitors run into, since it’s based on Google’s crawl activity rather than real clicks on your site.
To find them, log in to Search Console and open the ‘Pages’ report. Look for the ‘Not found (404)’ error in the ‘Why pages aren’t indexed’ section. This shows you which pages Google tried to access but couldn’t find.
Click into it to see the full list of affected URLs, and you can export the list if you’d rather work through it in a spreadsheet.
Once you’ve redirected or otherwise fixed a URL, come back to this report and click ‘Validate Fix’ so Google knows to recrawl it.
One caveat to keep in mind is that this report reflects Google’s last crawl, not what’s happening on your site right now. It can take days, sometimes longer, for a fix to show up here, so treat it as a snapshot rather than a live feed.
If you need help connecting your site to Google Search Console, see our guide on how to add your WordPress site to Google Search Console.
Monitor WordPress 404s With a Plugin
Search Console only shows what Googlebot has crawled. It won’t catch a mistyped URL, an old bookmark, or a broken internal link that a real visitor clicks, since Google never tried to fetch those in the first place. For that kind of visibility, you need a plugin that logs every 404 on your site as it happens.
If you’re already using a premium SEO plugin, there’s a good chance you already have this covered. All in One SEO’s Pro plans include a Redirection Manager, and the Pro versions of Yoast SEO and Rank Math offer similar redirect and 404-logging tools.
If you don’t want to upgrade to a paid SEO plugin just for this, the free 404 to 301 plugin does a great job on its own.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. For details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once it’s active, you’ll find a new ‘404 to 301’ menu in your dashboard. The Logs tab starts recording 404 errors as soon as you activate it. You can see the broken URL, how many times visitors have tried to access it, when it was last visited, and more.
There’s nothing to configure to start logging. It works as soon as it’s active.
We’ll show you how to actually turn these into redirects a bit further down, once you’ve worked out where each one should go.
Decide Where Each 404 Should Go
Now that you have a list of 404s from Search Console and your 404 plugin, don’t redirect them on autopilot. Look at each URL and work out where it actually belongs, using these four rules:
1. Look for a 1-to-1 match first. If the old URL has an obvious, direct replacement, such as a “2024 SEO Trends” post that’s now covered by an updated “2026 SEO Trends” article, redirect straight to that page. It’s the cleanest option and gives visitors exactly what they’re looking for.
2. No direct replacement? Redirect to the category. When a specific post is gone and there’s no direct replacement, send visitors to the parent category or a pillar page that covers the same topic. It’s not a perfect match, but it gives them somewhere relevant to go.
3. Only use a 301 when there’s a real match. A 301 redirect consolidates ranking signals onto the new URL, but only when the new page is genuinely related. Don’t redirect everything to your homepage “just in case.” Google may treat these catch-all redirects as soft 404s, and they can confuse visitors.
4. Let some pages die. If there’s no relevant replacement, don’t force a redirect. Leave the URL as a 404, or serve a 410 Gone status. A 410 clearly tells search engines that you intentionally removed the page. That’s not a failure. It’s the right response when the content is gone for good.
Properly Redirect a 404 Page
Once you know where a URL should go, setting up the redirect with 404 to 301 takes just a few clicks.
From the 404 to 301 » 404 Logs tab, pick the URL you want to redirect, click the three-dot button, and click ‘Configure redirect.’
In the popup that appears, the source URL will already be filled in for you.
Next, choose the ‘Target page’ and set the redirect type to ‘301 – Moved Permanently (SEO).’
With that done, click ‘Create Redirect’ to save the configuration.
Finally, you can visit the old URL yourself to confirm it lands on the right page.
Bonus: Find Broken Links and Prevent Future 404s
Everything above deals with 404s that have already happened, whether Googlebot hit them or a visitor did. If you’d rather catch a broken link before anyone else runs into it, the free Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO plugin is the best choice. It scans your site for links pointing to pages that no longer exist, so you can fix them before they generate a single 404.
Keep in mind this covers a related but different set of links: a link checker finds the links your own content points to, while the tracking methods above catch the 404s that people and Googlebot actually hit. Running both gives you fuller coverage.
For a full walkthrough of installing and using the plugin, see our guide on how to find and fix broken links in WordPress.
Video Tutorial
FAQs on Tracking 404 Pages and Setting Up Redirects
1. What is a 404 error and why should I care about it?
A 404 error occurs when someone tries to visit a page on your website that doesn’t exist. This could happen because you deleted a page, changed its URL, or someone linked to your site incorrectly. You should care because 404 errors create a poor user experience, can hurt your SEO rankings, and cause visitors to leave your site immediately.
2. How do 404 errors affect my website’s SEO?
While a few 404 errors won’t destroy your SEO, having many broken links can negatively impact your search rankings. Search engines may crawl these broken pages less frequently, and if users consistently bounce from 404 pages, it signals to Google that your site provides a poor user experience. Fixing 404 errors and setting up proper redirects helps maintain your SEO authority.
3. What’s the difference between a 301 redirect and a 302 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines the page has moved forever, transferring most of the SEO value to the new page. A 302 redirect is temporary and tells search engines the original page will return, so it doesn’t transfer SEO value. For most 404 fixes, you’ll want to use 301 redirects.
4. How often should I check for 404 errors on my website?
We recommend checking for 404 errors at least once a month, especially if you regularly update or delete content. However, using a 404 plugin can automatically track these errors for you, making the process much more efficient than manual checking.
5. Will fixing 404 errors improve my website traffic?
Yes, fixing 404 errors can help improve your website traffic. By redirecting broken links to relevant pages, you’ll keep visitors on your site longer, reduce bounce rates, and provide a better user experience. This can lead to improved search rankings and more organic traffic over time.
Expert Guides on Handling 404 Errors in WordPress
We hope this article helped you learn how to track 404 pages and redirect them in WordPress. Next, you may like to see some other guides related to handling 404 errors in WordPress:
- Beginner’s Guide to Creating 301 Redirects in WordPress
- How to Find and Fix Broken Links in WordPress (Step by Step)
- How to Get Email Alerts for 404 Errors in WordPress
- Best Free 404 Redirect Plugins for WordPress
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kzain
One additional tip I’d like to suggest is to regularly review and update redirects to prevent link rot and ensure they remain relevant. This can help maintain a healthy website structure and reduce bounce rates. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights!
Zia Khan
Absolutely! Regularly checking redirects is key. Ignoring them can lead to broken links piling up and eventually harming SEO. How often do you review them on your site?
Mrteesurez
Instead of redirection the 404 error page, why can one rebuild or customize it and make it a landing page that can even leads to conversion.
Thanks for the article.
WPBeginner Support
You certainly can and it would depend on the use case for if a 404 page or a redirect would be better
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
I probably wouldn’t do that Mr. Mrteesurez . It’s good to give the user feedback that they didn’t find what they were looking for. That the page is not there, and only then perform some action. If you turn an error page into a landing page and expect conversions, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. The user will first be confused, try to find the content again, and when they don’t find it, they will leave in frustration. So, for me, this is not a good practice, but it’s just my subjective opinion.
Mrteesurez
I understand you Mr. Jiří Vaněk but I’ve had a different experience that has shown me the value of transforming a 404 error page into a more engaging landing page. On one of my projects, instead of just displaying an error message, I included a search bar and links to popular articles. Surprisingly, this led to a significant decrease in bounce rates and kept users on the site longer. While it’s true that some users may be confused initially, I found that offering them useful options right away helps turn a potentially negative experience into a positive one. That being said, it’s important to balance between acknowledging the error and guiding the user to relevant content.
Jiří Vaněk
It’s possible that we each had a different implementation, leading to different results, but I’m glad to have confirmation from someone that what I’ve been dismissing all along actually works. My findings were based on my own numbers, but honestly, it was a small sample from just one website, so I don’t have a broad comparison. Next time, I might try your method again and conduct new measurements. Thank you for the interesting idea, the tip, and the confirmation that this approach works great for you. That’s awesome.
Moinuddin Waheed
Very often we encounter nice and intuitive 404 error pages with some navigation links to the other pages of the website.
it is good idea to completely redirect them without them having to navigate themselves to other pages.
Having said that, redirecting from 404 error pages, does it completely hide the error from users and just redirect behind the wall to some other pages of encountered 404 error or it shows 404 error and then redirects to other pages?
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on the specific content that would originally cause a 404, if you have a good replacement article then you can redirect to the new article.
Redirecting would mean that your new page is shown instead of a 404 error.
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
I would like to ask if it’s really a good strategy to perform redirects for 404 pages. Personally, I’ve taken the approach of creating a really nice 404 page where I apologize for the mishap and offer the reader other website content. This means showing them the latest 10 articles that might interest them. I’ve also designed the page to reduce frustration and give the reader a bit of amusement, even if they didn’t find what they were looking for. Why I’m asking: If I redirect to another page, won’t the user be confused that not only did they not find what they were looking for, but also they won’t see the information that the page doesn’t exist? Thus, preventing them from futilely searching for it and instead giving them a direct message that unfortunately, that content no longer exists?
WPBeginner Support
It heavily depends on your content, personal preference, and site for which would be best. This guide helps those who want to set up this redirect.
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
Just to ask additionally, is it a better practice to redirect a 404 page to the homepage or to have a custom 404 page? I want to know what Google considers a better practice. I thought a custom 404 error page was better, but now I’m not sure, as there is also talk about redirecting to the homepage, which might be confusing for both users and robots?
WPBeginner Support
IT can change over time or based on why the content is a 404 but having a 404 page is a good practice to prevent search engines from thinking a page is duplicate content if you link every page to your homepage when you have a 404 error.
Mrteesurez
This reply is insighful, I learnt from it. I initially thought is good to redirect error pages to homepage for smooth user experience but on the side of SEO, the pages can be considered as duplicates which could pose a risk on SEO of a site.
Ralph
It is very important to take care of our 404 error as it may looks very unprofessional for our viewers. Once again you guys prove All in One SEO is great tool that can take care of many things that matter.
sarah hawkins
We moved host and build and our new build pages load fine but the crawlers still locate pages from our old host that end in .html and these bring up error 404 pages but are not in my sitemap or build.
Will these disappear over time with new search engine crawls or do i have to do anything? Any help would be very much appreciated.
WPBeginner Support
If they are important pages then it would normally be best to redirect them to the correct URL.
Admin
Mrteesurez
Over time, Google’s crawler will recognize that the pages are no longer available. However, for a quick fix, it’s better to perform a permanent redirect to maintain a positive user experience right away. Additionally, you can include instructions in the robots.txt file to indicate the permanent move. This approach not only helps preserve your SEO rankings but also ensures that your users seamlessly find the new content.
Nikolinayoga
Hi, can you erase the 404 URL that the crawl found (without having them among the actual pages in the dashboard)
I want to erase them but don´t know how to “locate them” lol
Or in that case the only option is to redirect them to the homepage?
Thank you
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on the specifics of what you mean. If the page does not exist then redirecting it to the home page would let search engines know the page does not exist
Admin
benafflic
thanks for the insight. everything I read is crystal clear
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide could be helpful
Admin
Lauren
This was SO helpful, thank you!!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our article was helpful
Admin
Raymond Cyprian
Good I stumbled upon this. Had been looking for a way to redirect error 404.pages. I think this did a good job for me. Pls can I uninstall the plugin once I have completed all redirects as I already have slot of plugins and they are beginning to slow down my site.
WPBeginner Support
Hi Raymond,
Nope, you cannot uninstall plugin. Your redirects would stop working if you uninstalled plugin.
Admin
Raymond
Thanks. Is there any code I could use to perform the 301 redirects?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Raymond,
You can do that by setting individual redirects in .htaccess file using a code like this:
1-click Use in WordPress
For more details, see our guide on how to setup redirects in WordPress.
dimip
Nice… I have recently moved from http to https and i see in google search results both http and https links both works but i want for all non https link that the user is redirected to https. Does the above tool is what i need?
Does google sees http to https as different website shall i use change of address tool or is enough that i have registered also the https ?
Do you have a quide or plan to make one with easy steps http to https ?
WPBeginner Support
Please see our guide on how to add SSL and HTTPS in WordPress.
Admin
Dimip
Thanks a lot
I forgot to add that it was a migration from weebly to wordpress. The site is a perfect copy, all structure kept the same but at weebly was example.com/sample.html where at wordpress example.com/sample.
I have given the new sitemap to Google and deleted the order without redirect that happened before a month plus now the https I have seen a major drop down in SEO in search results. Is there a way to recover from this? For example if I can find again the old sitemap from weebly? For the Google map section things are the same. Some advice please?
Precious
Hello, thank you so much for this tutorial! It helped me redirect some of my 404 pages that result from my recent Blogger-WordPress move.
However, I noticed I have A LOT of posts that need to be redirected to the right URL, judging from the number of tracked errors on the 404 tab. My question is is there a way to automate this? Some of these links are mobile links from my former blog with the m? added to them. The thing is it may take so long to do all those redirects one after the other. I am also concerned about losing the confidence of those who visit my site.
How do I fix this? Is there a way to automatically redirect all the 404 pages to the right posts? Please help me.
Romeo Mariano
How do I redirect every 404 error to the home page?
Zain Zaheer
In the Target Url section place your Homepage Url.
David Pascal
I have just installed it and did some redirection. I hope it works the way I expect. Anyway, its a nice plugin. Thanks for the helpful post about it.
Jaswinder
Can we redirect 404 page without using any plugin? If yes how?
Thanks
Jatin
redirection plugins with woo-commerce – 404 product page redirect to there category page
http://example.com/product/testname or http://example.com/product/“%anything%”
its in Jeans category
to
http://example.com/Jeans-category page
How can we do it?
Will Franco aka Flywheel
Watch out with the Redirection plugin though!
Redirection Plugin Trialing Slash Issue
a. Issue with and without trialing /
b. Currently, I have to setup two redirects per URL
If you don’t the URL that’s not setup in redirection will 404.
the bug is easy to miss! and the plugin documentation doesn’t specify that you actually need to create two redirects per one.
if you visit the target page by clicking the source first it will work
and then if you visit the non-trailing slash it will work
you have the visit the non-trailing slash first to get the 404 (i.e. like a visitor of your site)
and it seems nobody is talking about this either!!!
Courtney
FYI… this is not a bug. This is what regex is for – you can check the “regex” box to use that option. Regular expressions allow you to create 1 redirection and then tell it to redirect with or without the trailing slash. Regex is how ‘normal’ htaccess file rules are created, which is what this plugin does via WP instead (unless you have it set up to use Apache or nginx). More about regex here – . GL.
WPBeginner Staff
Redirects not only help search engines but will also help users coming from other sources. If you are confident that you will not loose any visitors then you can deactivate the plugin.
AL Spaulding
Great little plugin. Just handled a big batch of redirects on a site with it. I have a quick question though.
While I am aware that the plugin must stay activated for the redirects to work, how long after the big “G” (google) has indexed the correct page(s) and ranked them accordingly wuld it be safe to remove the plugin?
For example: if howdy/doody/funny is redirected to howdy/doody/funny/humor, and Google is now ranking and indexing howdy/doody/funny/humor, after you alert google of the repair in Webmaster Tools; is it not safe to remove the plugin then? Or is this permanent for the life of the site?
Excuse the lengthy question. Thanks in advance.
max sarasini
Can I use the redirection plugin alone to redirect my entire old blog http://www.thepaintedsmile.wordpress.com to my new, self hosted website? Or do I have to pay $13 annually for the wordpress redirect facility in order to do this?
WPBeginner Support
You can not use plugins on WordPress.com, please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org sites vs free WordPress.com blogs. You will have to buy Redirect addon from WordPress.com
Admin
Silas Jura
Does this work if I am building a new website in Wordpress (on a new domain) and replacing my site that is currently with Weebly (on our old domain)? We decided it would be easier to use a new domain (plus it’s more SEO friendly, I think) to build the new site on Wordpress so the redirect would need to come from our old domain (TitanMgmtGroup.com) and redirect to the appropriate pages on our new domain (TitanPropertyManagement.co). What do you think, should I redirect the old domain or should I switch the Wordpress site to the old domain once I’m done building it? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Nur Ahmad Furlong
I really love the redirection plugin, it has however been misbehaving alot lately, I think the developers have not been keeping it up to date. It still works but can sometimes get you stuck with redirects you can’t remove even after deleting them.
I’m sticl with a tricky problem. I converted atons of auto generated categories to tags and now have a ton of 404’s I need to somehow redirect automatically.
Any ideas how I can bulk redirect 404 category links to the tag equavalent?
Trent
I’ll give this plugin a try, sounds like it’ll work great. My only concern is that it will slow the site down. This leads me to a question: if I use the plugin now and fix all my 404s through 301 redirects with this app, then delete the app when I’m done redirecting all the pages, will the redirects stay, or will they go away with the app. In other words, do I need to keep the plugin installed and activated to keep the 301 redirects active? Thanks!
Editorial Staff
The plugin has to stay activated for the redirects to work. If you only have a few redirects, then you can simply make those in the .htaccess file.
Admin
Frank
And what does Google like this? Or will it give you a lowere rate?
Google cleans up the 404 results automatically right?
Editorial Staff
Your 404 pages shouldn’t be getting indexed to begin with.
Admin
Brandon N.
What are “match”, “action”, and “regular expression” used for? Was hoping that would be covered in the article.
javierojuel
Is it better to manage the 404 error pages in the htaccess file or with this plugin? Is there a performance issue using one of these two systems?
wpbeginner
@javierojuel This plugin is a must have for pretty much every blog. It is very well optimized. The point is that you can’t track 404 pages as well as this plugin does. Also by doing the hard code way, you can screw things up if you don’t know what you are doing. Redirection protects you at least to some extent.
Zia Khan
Using the plugin is easier for most users, especially non-technical folks. Managing via .htaccess can be tricky and risky, plus plugins don’t really impact performance much.
TobyFoote
Ironically, the Velvet Blues Plugin for WordPress link in this article goes to a 404 error page.
wpbeginner
@TobyFoote Fixed it