The 404 error in WordPress is one of the most annoying things you might stumble upon. Fixing the 404 error is crucial cause it kills user experience every time someone tries to access your site but can not.

WordPress is a world-class CMS. A million functions are running behind its infrastructure. Sometimes a small stir in the program may cause unexpected shutdowns. Error 404 is one of them. Of course, the last thing you want your clients to see a 404 NOT FOUND message.

In this article, we will walk you through the head and tail of this annoying error 404. Learn how to fix it and get even better site speed.

So, let’s get started!

What is a 404 error in WordPress?

When a user tries to access a website or pages within a site, the web browser sends requests to the corresponding server. The server gets connected to the client but somehow it shows a 404 NOT FOUND error.

This means the server was able to connect but can’t trace the file that was searched by the user. In the site’s backend, the target resource may miss a slug, resulting in this 404 error in WordPress.

What causes 404 error?

If you see a 404 error on any page, post, blog, or homepage, the cause is definitely the WordPress site’s permalink. Suddenly changed slugs without properly redirecting will lead to an error like this.

Generally, it is neither a critical error nor a complicated one. It is basically very easy to solve. Unless it is a server issue, non-developers can solve it by themselves.

Fix the 404 error in WordPress

Error 404 not only hampers users from accessing the site but also impacts the site’s rank and SEO. That’s why we need to fix it as soon as possible.

As this error occurs due to the misbehavior of the site’s permalinks or .htaccess file, the solution is quite simple.

Just go to your Dashboard> Settings> Permalinks

Now, click on the “Save Changes” button and the problem should be fixed.

Wondering how? Well, once you hit the save button, the system will trace it back to the .htaccess file and remove any anomalies.

If this does not fix the 404 error in WordPress, we will need to do it manually. In this case, you need to access your local FTP storage using tools like C-panel.

Now, find the .htaccess file in the /wp-content/ and /wp-includes/ directory and paste these lines in it.

# BEGIN WordPress

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

# ENDWordPress

Now, save it and try accessing your website once again. The error 404 will be gone.

That’s how easy it is to solve one of the most annoying problems in WordPress.

Let’s speed things up!

Although your site is back online, what about the loading speed? It might be slow because of all the unnecessary things that happened.

That’s why the best course of action is to clean up after fixing an error.

In case of fixing the error 404 in WordPress, there’s no major clean up needed. But, you have to clean the server cache properly or the residual trash will hinder server speed.

WP Optimize is a good tool to clean up the residual cache on your server. It helps you clean cache files, block spamming attacks, as well as compress images to reduce server load. It typically is one of the best methods to boost up your website.

This type of caching tool serves specific purposes and doesn’t stack your dashboard. In counter that, they don’t have much to offer anyway.

But there is also that high-tier software for both site security, maintenance, and clean up. But they cost very dearly.

Like SUCURI – a leading brand providing site security, clean up, and maintenance all at the same time. It is one of the top levels of services you can get for your website. Just the price is a little bit higher.

Check the pricing here.