Status HTTP 404

Type: a mistake on the client's side

HTTP status 404 is displayed when uses requests non-existing file. As the requested file does not exist, server can not fulfill a request.

So, the 404 error tells us that user's browser was trying to load a file, which does not exist or which is not located in the place, where browser searches for it on the server. As a result, instead of the requested object servers answers with the 404 error.

It happens that the reason of the 404 error lays in the wrong settings of mod_rewrite in .htaccess file, which means wrong settings of so called human-friendly URL. In this case the 404 error is generated by the mod_rewrite module, which is not able to 'translate' the address given by human to the real path to the requested object.

Frequent reasons of 404 error:

  • — User tried to open this file: http://website.server.trading/subpage/subpage1.html while the „subpage1.html” was located in the root directory and it was possible to find it under this address: http://website.server.trading/subpage1.html. Server could not find the file because of the wrong path to it and answered with the 404 error.
  • — User wanted to open a web page and wrote in the address bar: http://website.server.trading/sbpage/subpage1.html while it must be: http://website.server.trading/subpage/subpage1.html - there is a typo in the word „subpage”. Server could not find the directory „sbpage”, so it could not find the file „subpage1.html” and answered with an error 404. Same situation would be if there would be typo in the name of the file.
  • — The address http://website.server.trading/year-2016/nicepage must redirect the user to the file located under the right address: http://website.server.trading/subpage/mynicepage.html with the help of the mod_rewrite module (it is a human-friendly URL). But the administrator of the website configured this module in a wrong way. As a result server can not 'translate' the link http://website.server.trading/year-2016/nicepage into http://website.server.trading/subpage/mynicepage.html, so the 404 error is displayed.

What to do to fix the 404 error?

  • — Check whether files and directories names are correct.
  • — Check whether the requested file which we expect to find under the address: http://website.server.trading/subpage/subpage1.html is really located in the directory named„subpage” and whether the file is named „subpage1.html”.
  • — Check upper and lower case in the name of the files and directories. On the server the file „subpage1.html” differs from „subpage1.HTML” and from „SUBPAGE1.html” – these are three different files.
  • — In case the mod_rewrite module is configured in a wrong way, you need to check whether in .htaccess file the rewrite rules and codes are set correctly, or, if this module is configured by a plugin, check plugin settings.