One of my favorite parts of designing a website is thinking up a concept for the 404 page. It’s usually one of the last steps in the process, when all the main site pages have been designed, developed, and approved, and it’s a way to close out the design stage on a fun note. That said, 404 pages aren’t all fun and games — they can actually help you improve the performance of your website and provide a better UX, too.
My team recently asked me to compile some of my favorite 404 pages Trekk has worked on, along with my 404 page philosophy.
What is the purpose of a 404 page?
First and foremost, 404 pages are functional pages that users will see if they hit a dead end on a website. These dead ends can happen for a variety of reasons — maybe they typed in the URL incorrectly, or perhaps the page used to exist but you took it down and forgot to redirect it. Our hope, of course, is that no user will ever see our 404 page for a reason that’s in our control, but it happens.
When they hit that page, they need to know two main things:
- The web address they entered doesn’t exist.
- Where to go instead.
A basic 404 page that clearly communicates these two things will totally suffice, and that’s what most websites offer. Here at Trekk, however, we see system pages like this as an opportunity to drive home the brand messaging, provide a positive brand experience, and recapture that at-risk web traffic.
What makes a great 404 page?
My main goal with any 404 page is to reassure the user that, even though they hit an error page, all hope is not lost! 404 pages typically have incredibly high bounce rates — more than 90% is not uncommon — so my goal is to keep the user on the site. I use the brand voice, messaging, and graphic elements to tie the 404 page into the website’s theme and make the 404 page feel less like a dead end and more like the first step on a journey.
For me, a 404 page earns bonus points if it’s clever and gets a chuckle — this “ope” page from the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums is perfect, no notes. Of course, humor is not appropriate for every brand, but I like to be punny when I can.
My favorite 404 pages
Here are a few of my favorite 404 pages I’ve worked on at Trekk, all for Sylvamo paper brands.
The Hammermill 404 page uses an image of the brand’s plushie mascot, Nibbles, to guide the user back to calmer waters. 
The Springhill website is amusement park-themed, so this 404 page provides just the ticket. 
Wild horses couldn’t keep lost users from making their way home on the Williamsburg site. 
The Accent site always leaves a paper trail.
As you can see, we like to have fun with our web design, and no 404 page shows that off better than our own: trekk.com/404.
Hey, that’s me!
Learn more about Trekk’s services and browse our recent web design projects.
