Dave McHale

<p><strong>– This plugin has been adopted! Please review the description below. –</strong></p>
<p>A 404 page is what a user sees when they try to reach a non-existent page on your site (because they’ve clicked on a broken link, the page has been deleted or they’ve mistyped a URL).</p>
<p>While the standard 404 page can vary depending on your web host, it doesn’t usually provide the user with much useful information and users may just surf away from your site. Therefore, Google recommend creating a custom 404 page that provides the user with more information about your site and its content.</p>
<p>The Google 404 widget is a quick and easy way to embed a search box on your custom 404 page and provide users with useful information designed to help them find the information they need. Where it can, the Google widget will also suggest other ways for the user to find the information they need, thus increasing the likelihood that they’ll continue to explore your site.</p>
<p>For best results, you should set up a <a href="http://www.google.com/webmasters/" title="Google" rel="nofollow ugc">Google webmaster account</a> and submit an XML sitemap of your blog to ensure the Google 404 widget works effectively.</p>
<p>Find out more <a href="https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/136085" rel="nofollow ugc">here…</a></p>
<h4>Features</h4>
<p>Currently the plugin outputs the Google 404 widget in US English by default, or tries to use the current WordPress language.<br />
You can use the <code>google_404_language</code> filter to specify a different language code.</p>
<p>Also looking to add the possibility to <a href="https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/100044" rel="nofollow ugc">change the appearance</a> of the widget.</p>
<h4>Please note</h4>
<p>The Google 404 widget plugin is NOT a WordPress widget.<br />
It is simply the term Google use to describe their enhanced 404 page script.</p>
<h4>Adoption Story</h4>
<p>This plugin was originally developed by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/husobj/" rel="nofollow ugc">Ben Huson</a> and was adopted in September 2014 thanks to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/adopt-me" rel="ugc">adopt-me</a> tag.</p>
<h4>Coming Soon!</h4>
<p>The ability to customize the CSS from an options page within the WordPress Admin area, attempt to dynamically inject the Google search box without needing to modify your template files, and more!</p>


404 Widget for Google

Add Google search capabilities to your site's 404 "page not found" template.

Jon Christopher

Peter Raschendorfer

NerdPress

<p>Bringing visitors to your website takes time and effort. Every visitor is important. The default 404 error page of most themes does not provide any information on what to find on your site. A first-time visitor, who does not know you, is left in a dead end and leaves your website. Set up a helpful custom 404 error page to keep them on your site!</p>
<p>This handy plugin allows you to easily create your own 404 error page without any effort and it works with almost every theme.</p>
<h3>Out of Retirement!</h3>
<p>NerdPress has adopted Smart Custom 404 Page! <a href="https://www.nerdpress.net/announcing-404-page/" rel="nofollow ugc">Read the announcement here.</a></p>
<p>We’ve been fans of this plugin for many years, and we’re grateful for Peter’s many years of service to the community. Peter retired from plugin development in October 2023, so we’ve jumped in to help ensure this plugin continues to work well now and in the future.</p>
<h3>Usage</h3>
<p>Create your custom 404 error page just like any other page using the WordPress Editor (<code>Pages > Add New</code>). Then go to <code>Appearance > 404 Error Page</code> and select the created page as your custom 404 error page. That’s it!</p>
<h3>Why use this plugin?</h3>
<p>Unlike similar plugins the 404page plugin <strong>does not create redirects</strong>. That’s <strong>quite important</strong> because a correct code 404 is delivered which tells search engines that the page does not exist and has to be removed from the index.</p>
<p>Additionally, the 404page plugin <strong>does not create additional server requests</strong>.</p>
<h3>Requirements</h3>
<p>The only requirement for this plugin is that you change the Permalink Structure in <code>Settings > Permalinks</code> to anything else but “Plain.” This also activates the WordPress 404 error handling.</p>
<h3>Block & Shortcode</h3>
<h4>Block</h4>
<p>The Plugin offers a block “URL causing 404 error” for the block-based editor to show the URL that caused the error. The block offers three display options:</p>
<ul>
<li>“Page” to show the page including path ( e.g. <code>does/not/exist</code> )</li>
<li>“Domain Path” to show the URL without protocol and parameters ( e.g. <code>example.com/does/not/exist</code> )</li>
<li>“Full” to show the complete URL ( e.g. <code>https://example.com/does/not/exist?p=1</code> )</li>
</ul>
<h4>Shortcode</h4>
<p>The Plugin offers a shortcode “pp_404_url” for the classic editor to show the URL that caused the error. There are three possible options:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong><code>[pp_404_url page]</code></strong> to show the page including path ( e.g. <code>does/not/exist</code> )</li>
<li><strong><code>[pp_404_url domainpath]</code></strong> to show the URL without protocol and parameters ( e.g. <code>example.com/does/not/exist</code> )</li>
<li><strong><code>[pp_404_url]</code></strong> or <strong><code>[pp_404_url full]</code></strong> to show the complete URL ( e.g. <code>https://example.com/does/not/exist?p=1</code> )</li>
</ul>
<h3>Plugin Privacy Information</h3>
<ul>
<li>This plugin does not set cookies</li>
<li>This plugin does not collect or store any data</li>
<li>This plugin does not send any data to external servers</li>
</ul>
<h3>For developers</h3>
<h4>Action Hook</h4>
<p>The plugin adds an action hook <code>404page_after_404</code> which you can use to add extra functionality. The exact position the action occurs after an 404 error is detected depends on the Operating Method. Your function must not generate any output. There are no parameters.</p>
<h4>Constant</h4>
<p>If the 404page plugin is installed and activated it defines the PHP constant <code>PP_404</code>. Check existence of it to detect the 404page plugin.</p>
<h4>Functions</h4>
<p>The Plugin provides the following functions:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong><code>pp_404_is_active()</code></strong> to check if there is a custom 404 page selected and the selected page exists</li>
<li><strong><code>pp_404_get_page_id()</code></strong> to get the ID of the 404 page </li>
<li><strong><code>pp_404_get_all_page_ids()</code></strong> to get an array of page IDs in all languages</li>
<li><strong><code>pp_404_get_the_url( $type )</code></strong> to get the URL that caused the 404 error
<ul>
<li>Parameter $type string Optional</li>
<li>“page” to get the page including path ( e.g. <code>does/not/exist</code> )</li>
<li>“domainpath” to get the URL without protocol and parameters ( e.g. <code>example.com/does/not/exist</code> )</li>
<li>“full” (default) to get the complete URL ( e.g. <code>https://example.com/does/not/exist?p=1</code> )</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Native Mode</h4>
<p>If you are a theme developer you can add native support for the 404page plugin to your theme for full control.</p>


Smart Custom 404 Error Page


Many thanks to @nerdpressteam for adopting my plugin and continuing the work


Thank you

Create a custom 404 error page the easy way! No coding, and no redirects.

404 Widget for Google vs Smart Custom 404 Error Page