Never Leave Them Hanging
Provide Human-Readable Error Messages with Full Navigational Tools. The most common of these messages is “Error 404 - Not Found”, usually triggered when a malformed link or mistyped URL causes the browser to seek a non-existent web page. Unfortunately, the default message is usually unlinked and written in technical terms. The experience may well confound your user, driving them away from your site forever.Test your error messages by entering a false URL in your domain. If the result leaves you marooned, with no links or suggestions, you should find out from your internet server provider how to set-up a redirect to a page that
1: Looks like it belongs to your site, complete with logos, menu items, and
2: incorporates helpful, hyperlinked suggestions–such as a a link to the Site Map.
And, while we’re on the subject of not driving your users up the wall, never put an “Under Construction” message anywhere on your website.
Flickr Image by N.R.