larsstorm

Got an old domain? 404 errors all over? using WordPress? 
Time to remove those 404 errors and recover your lost inbound links…
Using SEO404, a very lightweight plugin for WordPress, you can easily change all those 404 errors to 301 redirects for your blog frontpage.
<ul>
<li>Since 0.3 define the 301 redirect destination url.</li>
</ul>
We’ve used this technique to force redirects to the frontpage before. Though usually just included it in a wordpress theme. But why not have this as a plugin? So here is SEO404 WordPress plugin, ready for use.

SEO404

SEO404 redirects to the Blog front page with a 301. No more 404 errors on Google/Bing/etc.

Aaron

Stop losing visitors to broken links. 404 Solution doesn’t just redirect errors to your homepage – it uses advanced spell-checking and intelligent matching algorithms to find the actual page your visitor was trying to reach.
When a visitor hits a broken link like <code>/prodcut/awesome-item</code> (typo), most plugins redirect them to your homepage where they get lost and leave. 404 Solution is different – it automatically finds <code>/product/awesome-item</code> and redirects them to the right place.
<h4>Why 404 Solution is Different</h4>
Intelligent URL Matching – Uses sophisticated algorithms (N-gram similarity, Levenshtein distance, multi-word matching) to find the closest existing page, not just blindly redirect to homepage.
Spell-Checking Technology – Automatically handles typos and URL variations so visitors find what they want even when they misspell URLs.
Zero Configuration – Works perfectly out of the box with smart defaults. Advanced users have full control over every aspect.
WooCommerce Optimized – Specifically designed to work with products, categories, variations, and custom post types.
<h4>Core Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Automatic intelligent redirects based on the best possible match for the URL</li>
<li>404 error logging with detailed visitor data and referrer information</li>
<li>Manual redirect creation for specific URLs to any existing page</li>
<li>Page suggestions shortcode to display matches on custom 404 pages</li>
<li>Automatic cleanup removes redirects when URLs match new pages or are no longer used</li>
<li>Regular expression support for advanced redirect patterns</li>
<li>Debug logging to troubleshoot redirect behavior</li>
<li>Performance optimized for sites with 10,000+ pages</li>
</ul>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li>Visitor hits a broken link (404 error)</li>
<li>404 Solution analyzes the URL and compares it to all your existing pages</li>
<li>Intelligent matching finds the closest match using spell-checking algorithms</li>
<li>Visitor is automatically redirected to the correct page</li>
<li>You can review all 404s and create custom redirects as needed</li>
</ol>
<h4>Perfect For</h4>
<ul>
<li>eCommerce sites (WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads) with changing product URLs</li>
<li>Content sites with evolving permalink structures</li>
<li>Migrated sites where old URLs need to map to new content</li>
<li>Large sites with thousands of pages where manual redirects are impractical</li>
<li>Any WordPress site that wants to provide better user experience</li>
</ul>
<h4>What Makes This Different From Other Redirect Plugins?</h4>
vs. Redirection – Redirection requires manual redirect rules. 404 Solution automatically finds matches using intelligent algorithms.
vs. 404 to 301 – 404 to 301 redirects everything to your homepage. 404 Solution finds the actual page visitors want.
vs. Simple 301 Redirects – Simple 301 only does manual redirects. 404 Solution creates intelligent automatic redirects based on URL similarity.
<h4>Technical Details</h4>
<ul>
<li>Supports 301 (permanent) and 302 (temporary) redirects</li>
<li>N-gram similarity scoring for fast matching</li>
<li>Spell-checking with Levenshtein distance calculation</li>
<li>Custom post type support (products, events, portfolios, etc.)</li>
<li>Taxonomy-aware (categories, tags, custom taxonomies)</li>
<li>Query parameter preservation</li>
<li>Referrer tracking and logging</li>
<li>IP address logging (GDPR-compliant hashing available)</li>
<li>Automatic performance optimization for large sites</li>
</ul>
Note: For high-traffic sites with thousands of simultaneous users, disable “Create automatic redirects” and avoid using the shortcode to ensure optimal performance.

404 Solution


I haven't tried all of the features that this plugin has to offer as I intended to just use it temporarily to redirect users to a designated 404 page, but it does so much more. I really appreciate the logs that show me the crazy urls people/bots are trying to access. Had a minor issue with a php notice that I reported, and the developer quickly jumped on it and released an update. Kudos!


Works as expected; fast support!

The smartest 404 plugin for WordPress - finds what your visitors were actually looking for.

SEO404 vs 404 Solution