@technicallyproduct
Errors are bad, right? That’s not always the case when it comes to 404 errors on your website. In my latest article for the Wix SEO Hub, I look at when you should fix 404s and when you should leave them alone. https://www.wix.com/seo/learn/resource/404s-for-seo
2 comments
When should you fix 404 errors? Short answer: Always. Long answer: Within reason. To start with, add a blanket/site-wide 404 handler that logs the error (referrer and requested page), so you can decide if you need to fix a typo or if someone's trying to access something they shouldn't (such as gain access to a DB or admin/config pages). Some of those might be better handled as 403s (even if those pages don't actually exist, which might mislead would-be attackers into thinking they've found a way to break in when one doesn't exist, thus wasting their time on misdirection). While I'm dispensing free Web development advice: Don't waste you time with Fisher-Price toys like SquareSpace and Wix. Instead of using somebody's Duplo blocks, learn to write actual code, get your hands dirty (metaphorically of course) and build with Lego. It's really not that hard. Alternately, hire a professional developer who does (someone like myself, for example) instead of some imposter pretending to be one and who'll build you a shitty cookie-cutter Website only it's creator could love. No doubt, tp is getting a kickback for shilling that crap to people who should know to do their own research and not take shortcuts. If he has any integrity, he should be ashamed of himself.
Hey, wow, ouch. Wix commissioned me to write the article, but it isn't *about* Wix. They have an online SEO publication with information about all sorts of topics (I've also written about GA4, Google Search Console, canonicalization, and so on - all of which is CMS-agnostic). Yes, I'm sure that publication is part of a brand positioning exercise by Wix but I'm absolutely not shilling anyone's product or service. I also don't get any kickback for posting a link here - I'm just pleased to be able to share the things I've written, wherever they are published.