I’ve written about inspiring 404 pages in the past, as every site will break from time to time, and I think it makes sense to put in a little thought to how you handle errors.
Your visitors will be more forgiving of errors if you make them smile, ideally while helping them find their way. Also, clever, witty or charming 404 pages can be great for inbound links (as proved by this post).
I wouldn’t file all of the following examples under ‘best practice’, as in some cases there should be better navigation options, but many of them are humorous and on-brand, and may help you to figure out what you can do with yours.
IMDB
The movie site adapts famous quotes for its 404 page, and it has a library of them.
Good Dog Design
This agency takes the dog out of its logo and has created a missing dog poster.
College Humor
Some other things that don’t exist…
Distilled
The smart folks at Distilled have a charming 404 page, which helped one visitor to find a “dream job”.
North Face
A dead end, but look at all of those helpful links…
Stack Overflow
Waffles are indeed delicious.
RTE
As far as humour goes, this is as good as it gets. That’s a picture of Shergar, in case you were wondering.
NovelRank
Context!
Lockerz
Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space.
Car Throttle
Use the arrow keys to play with the Audi R8.
Channel 9
A newsreader delivers the bad news…
Hover States
And finally, brilliantly, here’s a bit of Lionel…
Have you seen any other 404 pages that stand out from the crowd? Do let me know in the comments below...
Reader comments (14)
Senior reporter at Econsultancy
1:07PM on 29th November 2012
NME's is top notch
http://i.imgur.com/oE8Nl.jpg
Digital Marketing Executive at Koozai
2:22PM on 29th November 2012
Some good examples here. I think people undervalue the 404-error page. A personalised page can definitely be used to help keep people on your website rather than dissapearing straight away if they have visited from an external source.
9:24PM on 29th November 2012
Github's is my favorite
https://github.com/404
1:12AM on 30th November 2012
Good dog wins it, hands down.
Digital Marketing Executive at Koozai
9:14AM on 30th November 2012
I think the idea of making your 404 witty and upbeat is an excellent idea. It takes user experience to the next step, making their experience enjoyable even when they can't find what they are looking for.
However, I think it important to consider the tone of your brand creating a comical 404 page as it isn't always appropriate. For example, the 404 page of a support group for those with terminal illness' probably isn't the most appropriate to be cracking out the jokes.
Some excellent examples and an enjoying post to read.
9:25AM on 30th November 2012
The Good Dog Design page has to be my favorite :)
1:45PM on 30th November 2012
Every time I comment on E, my comments get removed or disappear. Why?
Managing Director at Alienation Digital
1:51PM on 30th November 2012
Damn! There's nothing original any more - http://www.alienationdigital.co.uk/404
Director of Product Development at Econsultancy
3:53PM on 30th November 2012
@Neil - That will be an overzealous Akismet spam filter I'm afraid, no clue why. Apologies, and please raise a flag should it happen again.
Manager at Key Multimedia
3:59PM on 30th November 2012
Hi Chris, am having problems leaving a comment to - have left feedback for technical support ;0)
Manager at Key Multimedia
10:39PM on 2nd December 2012
A tongue in cheek 404 from us - http://www.keymultimedia.co.uk/404
Group Online Manager at Kathmandu
8:55PM on 4th December 2012
http://www.kathmandu.com.au/404
Looks like you're lost, head back to camp
11:37PM on 2nd January 2013
That Good Dog one is awesome, I like how the slip of paper blows away when clicked. Also where's GitHub's 404 page, that's excellent also! :)
2:34PM on 4th April 2013
I just finished making it
Please tell if its good or not
http://www.ashtricks.com/404
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