How to Create a Custom 404 Page in Squarespace - and why

Jan 15

Every website has a default 404 page. That disappointing, tumbleweed place you end up when a page URL is broken or been deleted.

What do most of us do when we land on one? We leave within seconds and forget all about you. Why? Because it fails to link to any other parts of your site, meaning you’re missing a huge opportunity to engage with your audience and keep visitors on your website - which is also great for SEO! (What’s SEO?)

You ALWAYS want your website to lead people to your offers, even when the page they’re looking for doesn’t exist anymore.

Luckily, Squarespace makes it super easy to create a custom 404 page to use instead of the default page. You can add anything you want.

Here are some ideas:

PERSONALISED 404 ERROR MESSAGE
“We couldn't find the page you were looking for” is just so… blah. Inject some personality into it! Make it engaging and memorable.
SEARCH BAR + BLOG ARCHIVE
If most of your incoming traffic goes to your blog, adding a search bar and a blog archive can help visitors find what they’re looking for.
CONTACT + CALL TO ACTION
A CTA is your friend. Prompt visitors to take action by adding buttons linked to your services/products, sign-up form, or an Acuity Scheduling block to your free consultation call. Who knows - you could actually book a new client via your 404 page!

How to Setup a Custom 404 Page

To start, go to your Pages panel and add a page in the Unlinked Section. Add blocks to your page just like you would any other page. Make sure you edit the page settings and give your new 404 page a title and URL slug so you can easily identify it later.

When you’re finished building your page, save it and navigate to Design > Not Found/404 Page. You can select the page you just built in the dropdown menu, hit save, and you’re done!

Congratulations! You now have a custom 404 page that will help you retain more visitors. Want to share what you created? Drop a link to you custom 404 page in the comments!

Did you know all my website templates have a custom 404 error page? SUCH a time-saver for you! Simply change the button text and connect the buttons to the relevant pages and you’ll never lose website visitors ever again.