Errorlytics Blog

The best way to fix a mistake is first own up to it and then try to correct it in the least painful way.  That’s the concept behind custom 404 error pages.  Custom 404 pages show up when something has gone wrong and make an attempt to remedy the situation.  Different sites, however, design their pages to do slightly different things.  Some may be just to inform, others may be purely entertainment, and still others may do a combination of the two.  Here’s a list of some of the coolest 404 error pages on the web, categorized by primary function.  If you’re looking for some ideas for your own 404 error page, take a look at these.  You don’t have to worry about bad examples though because to make this list, your site needed to follow our rules for an effective custom 404 error page.

Befor I get into the list, this has to be the coolest 404 error page I’ve seen.  It made me lol (laugh out loud). . .literally: http://www.lookitsme.co.uk/404_me.

The following are simple 404 pages that aren’t too extravagant, but get the job done:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites/404
http://www.cnn.com/404
http://flickr.com/photos/404-error-page
http://www.imdb.com/404
http://nytimes.com/404
http://www.walmart.com/404
http://www.nfl.com/404

These pages sacrifice some functionality for creativity. They also make us laugh out loud [lol]. Nevertheless, these are some great examples of 404 error pages:

http://www.dazeofourlives.com/404.htm
http://www.limpfish.com/notfound.html

http://www.intuitive.com/badpage
http://www.snopes.com/badpage

http://www.fryewiles.com/templates/errors/404.html
http://www.patterntap.com/404
http://www.geeksquad.com/404.html

http://ifolderlinks.ru/404/

http://www.rush68.net/404/

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/html/404.html

http://www.larknews.com/july_2004/5.html
http://www.centerd.com/error.html

http://www.hulu.com/404 (turn volume on)

These are our favorites. They turn 404 error pages into an art form!
http://www.homestarrunner.com/systemisdown.html (turn up the volume)
http://www.homestarrunner.com/404 (speakers are necessary)
http://www.orangecoat.com/404
http://www.southparkstudios.com/404
http://www.expansionbroadcast.com/404