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Your Website's Error Page
An error page, also commonly referred to as a 404 page, is an important aspect of any website -- a page that requires some consideration and attention in its design. It is a page that should be displayed when a site user types a page address that does not exist or clicks on a link that is not in working order. Most web sites have a default error page that says "Page Not Found" on a plain white background. However, your web host can also use a page that you design. When a user brings up an error page, they should feel as though they are still within the website that the error page is a part of. There should be design consistency between the error page and the rest of the site. One way to do this is to include the main navigation features on the error page to help the user quickly navigate to another section of the site. It is also important that the average web user can read the error page. Readability is achieved by using plain English rather than programming language to explain that the user is viewing an error page and how they got to that page. This can be simply stated with a sentence such as the following: "Sorry, you have reach this page in error because the web address you were looking for does not exist. Please use the site search feature or click on a link in the navigation menu to find the information you were looking for." A good example of a clear and understandable error page is our own 404 page. Click this link: http://www.npadvisors.com/xxx. There is no page "xxx" at our site, so you will get our error page. With a well designed and easily navigable website, comes the hope that few web users will access an error page. However, it occasionally happens! So, don't neglect the design of your error page. If your organization needs help redesigning its error page so that it is more helpful to users, contact NPAdvisors at 540-428-3640 or mailto:Rick@npadvisors.com. | ||
