How and Why You Should Create a "404 Page" on Your Squarespace Website

This oh so simple tip is going to boost your SEO on your Squarespace website AND improve your customer experience.

It’s your ‘HTTP 404 Error’ page. You know, that “Sorry, we can’t find your page” announcement when you land on a webpage that doesn’t exist anymore.

Today, I want to show you how surer easy it is to make the most of this page. Time and time again I see entrepreneurs miss out on a fantastic opportunity to connect with their audience - and keep them hanging around on the site for longer. And it’s all down to this nifty little page.

Here’s how and why you should create a "404 Page" on your Squarespace website.

Here’s why it’s super important.

If someone lands on a ‘page not found’ page on your website due to a broken link, they’re probably going to click that ‘x’ and head back to Pinterest because they can’t find what they’re looking for on your site. The big goal with web design is to keep your audience on your site for as long as possible. Why? Because it leads to a loyal audience and, ultimately, sales. If we add in an optimised 404 page, we’re able to engage with our audience and even keep them hanging around on the site.

Search engines like Google look at how long your audience spends chilling out on your site. It’s SO important that we make it as easy as possible for every site visitor to kick back and relax for as long as possible on your site.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. “It’s all good, Eleanor - I don’t have any broken links on my site”. Unfortunately, if you’re on the internet and posting links out there, you’re probably going to have some. This is especially true if you’re using social media or Pinterest. Even when we’re as careful as we can be, some always slip through the net. And so, there’s always going to be people landing on that ‘404’ page on your site.

Okay, definitely sounds worthwhile. So, how do we do it?

What to include

Here’s my list of elements to consider including on your new functional custom 404-page. They’ll all improve customer experience on your site but you may want to mix and match depending on your business or industry.

A brief apology

Your audience might be feeling a little frustrated that the page they wanted couldn’t be found. Take the blame and apologise for this happening. Think back to your brand’s tone of voice when working out how you’re going to apologise. Maybe it’s completely sincere or perhaps you add in a sprinkling of humour to it?

A search bar

I like to offer up my search bar as a way for my audience to try and track down what they were looking for. You could also prompt them to the navigation menu to work their way around the site.

Some personality-filled text

Inject your brand personality into everything you say. This is an important opportunity to show off who you are as a brand or individual. It’s going to help your visitor in making their decision to stay on your site.

Your contact from or newsletter sign up

Help your audience by encouraging them to get in touch with you directly for help or support with what they were looking for. You could even add in your newsletter opt in form to entice your audience to join your email list.

Suggested content

I like to suggest popular or my most recent blog content to visitors who’ve landed on my 404 page. It means they can find something that might not have been what they were after but that they still find interesting or useful. This also gives them a taste of what you’re about which is very important if this is their first interaction with your business.

Anything you like

This is a great opportunity to get creative! Add in whatever you think your audience will engage with. That could be an about me summary or a showreel of your recent projects,

How to do it

Your current 404 page will look something like this. Here’s the default page for Squarespace:

It does a job and it’s actually better than a lot of other templates out there but it doesn’t offer much incentive to hang around for longer. Your audience will probably click away from your website at this point.

Step 1. Create a new ‘not-linked’ page. Head to the + button on the not linked section on Pages and click ‘page’.

Step 2: Design your new 404 page. Add in your elements and text.

Step 3: Link your new 404 page in the settings. Head to your main menu and click Design > Not Found/404 Page > Choose your new page from the dropdown list. Click save and you’re done!

It’s as easy as pie!

Here’s a sneak peek at mine: