Creative 404 – From Lost Surfers to Smiling Customers

Don’t have a 404 error page on your site yet? How so? You should update one on purpose, because it can increase conversions and your revenue in a flash. When visitors encounter an error page on your site, whether they typed in an incorrect address, landed on a non-existent page, or something went wrong with the connection, it stops them for a moment… and that’s exactly your time to make them stay, get to know you, and fall in love with you, with the help of a wonderful and witty UX and inspiring design.

Creating a dedicated 404 error page allows for targeted navigation to pages on the site and to content that is important to you that they see, and if not, before they click Back or close the page, you’ve put a smile on their face and created a memorable experience.

What makes 404 pages even better and more relevant is the link to your product/service through the text and visuals.
Take a few 404 pages that are fun and will inspire you…

Hot Dot Production

Credit: lifehacker.com.au

Minimalist design and technology have met. Alexander Ermolov’s Hot Dot Production studio took the technological aspect he chose to emphasize, and the “dot” from the studio’s name, and created a 404 page that is an interactive experience for surfers: as soon as you click the numbers 404 with the mouse, they disperse into dots.

 Come in and see>

404 Artistic and Engineered – BRET VICTOR

Credit: creativebloq.com

Philosophy and computers don’t usually meet, but it’s always nice when they do. The error page by Bert Victor (worrydream@), a computer scientist and electrical engineer, took René Magritte’s iconic and surreal painting “The Betrayal of Images” and changed the text “It is not a pipe” to a new philosophical question, 404 style. So wait, if this is not a page…

Who is your audience? It doesn’t matter now

Using simple and human language, original microcopy, surprising and sometimes also eye-catching like: “YIKES!” and the like, creates interest in the error page regardless of whether it is faced by a young or old surfer, B2B or B2C. Using movement, animation and interactivity with the surfer will do wonders and make surfers see the page in a loop.
Once you turn the work into a visual and “take” them off the page for a moment and even off the computer, at least in feeling, you have created the bridge between the surfer and you.

Credit: Markus Magnusson

404 on the spot
Spotify@, which provides surfers from all over the world with exactly what they want, doesn’t forget to regularly update the site with 404 pages in a ponytail. In this case, it’s Justin Bieber’s pony, using his song “Sorry” as a link to the error message.

Credit: Spotify

Here’s another one…

Credit: Spotify

And most importantly…don’t panic

Don’t be afraid to have fun. If you’re the one creating the page, this is the place to use your well-developed imagination and go wild. Using humor, an interesting angle to the “awkward” situation, and quick navigation to other pages on the site will make the experience of the surfers more enjoyable, especially if you connect the page to your concept, if you really feel like it…accuse them of sabotaging something and it’s all their fault…look what Marvel has prepared

Credit: Marvel