My Recipe for Unboring 404 Pages

2 min | Copywriting

73% of people who get a 404 error will leave the website.
Just like my exes, I can’t make them stay. But I can try to make them leave smiling.
Here’s a little writing exercise I did👇

1. I Collected Generic Phrases

• Error 404
• Something went wrong
• We couldn’t find this page
• This page no longer exists
• What you’re looking for isn’t here

2. I Added Relevant Topics

– Social Issues
– Inside Jokes
– Competitors
– Enemies
– Slogans

3. I Mixed Phrases & Topics

phrases on left side connecting to topics on right side

And here are the results:

Purina We couldn't find this page, but maybe we can still find a home for Sparky
We couldn’t find this page + Social Issue
Burger King ad What you're looking for isn't here, unless
What you’re looking for isn’t here + Competitor
SpaceX error rocket science joke
Error 404 + Inside Joke
Oatly something went wrong and it's not the dairy industry
Something went wrong + Enemy
De Beers group diamonds are forever, webpages are not
This page no longer exists + Slogan

A bit of creativity can turn your 404 error page from the most annoying part of your website into the most entertaining one.

• • •
You made it!

In this recipe

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