HTTP 404 Not Found Error? You are peacefully enjoying your time on the internet and suddenly a white screen with an error message appears. 404 not found error message is the most recognized error message that people encounter.
What could be more annoying than receiving this 404 error message? The 404 error message is a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) error. The appearance of this message indicates that there is nothing wrong with the client but with the server who is unable to find what is requested. Simply, a 404 error message means that the website does not exist with the URL entered.
How to Recognize a 404 Not Found Error Message?
To fix the problem first you will need to recognize the problem and make sure if it really is a 404 error message. Generally, the message is on a white screen written in the black font but it can be customized. Some of the common messages to pop up when there is a 404 error are:
- 404 Not Found
- 404 Error
- 404 Page Not Found
- HTTP 404 Not Found
- The requested URL [URL] was not found on this server.
How To Solve 404 Error Code Problem?
Most of the time your problem can be solved by refreshing the page. Not only that but it is also one of the most simple methods in this article. You can do so by clicking the circle button at the top left corner of the page or pressing Control and F5 simultaneously(Ctrl+F5).
As mentioned earlier, the cause for the appearance of this message is because a website with the URL no longer exists or never existed. There could be a small typing error in the URL so check the URL.
Sometimes, the problem could be in the browser which is causing this message to appear. To check if this is the case, just try reaching the website through another device. You can usually solve this problem by clearing your browser’s cache and cookies.
Malware in your device could also lead to this problem. To know if this is the case you can check it just in the same way as the previous solution.
When nothing is working, you can let the webmaster know about this message. If you are the one who owns the website displaying the error message you should probably consult your hosting provider for some help.
Advanced Fix for 404 Not Found Error message
If none of the solutions mentioned above worked, then you can try the advanced solution. Some of the most common causes of this are concerned with the .htaccess file. Before you try to fix this you need to backup your entire database ad you shouldn’t play around with these files if you don’t know what you are doing. After you have backed up everything we can head to the solutions.
404 error message appears generally when the searched page does not exist. Search engines could already have that page and it takes about a month for them to know that the page has been deleted or the visitors could have bookmarked the page. If you have deleted the page, you can redirect your deleted pages to a new one and if you don’t have related content, you can simply redirect them to your home page.
If you get the 404 error message, turn or the error reporting and reload the page. IF you see a message that says “Fatal error: Out of memory…” then you can be assured that the memory limit issue with your host is the thing that is causing the 404 error message. Solving this is simple, you just need to call your host and ask them to increase your memory limit.
You might receive a message that starts with “You don’t have permission to access” along with the 404 error message. This could mean that it is a permission problem. You can solve this problem by simply tweaking your CHMOD via FTP or you can contact your hosting provider to have this changed.
Most people receive the 404 error message when they have just created a custom URL route for the pages of your website. This happens mostly because the custom route was inputted incorrectly. This could be true for your case as well so check it and correct it if necessary.
You could get the 404 error message if your SSL certificate is not set up correctly. This could happen if your SSL URL is not connecting with the correct PrestaShop URL. So, you need to double-check with your hosting provider in a case such as this and make sure they are connected.
If you receive a 404 error when you turn on the Friendly URL, there is a strong chance that your mod_rewrite is disabled on your server. mod_rewrite is an apache module that allows you to customize your URL. So, you need to enable it. But, if your Friendly URL works perfectly fine, then this is not the case and mod_rewrite is enabled perfectly.
The .htaccess file basically controls redirects, protects folders, and changes aspects of your URL. As we discussed earlier, the 404 error is caused generally by problems in these sectors so this is the case of many. All you need to do to solve this problem is to delete the .htaccess file manually through your FTP and regenerate it by heading over to your Back-Office. In some cases, all you need to do is toggle the option for Friendly URL which could force the regeneration of the .htaccess file.