How to Create a Custom 404 Page in Laravel 10

How to Create a Custom 404 Page in Laravel 10

Introduction

When you're developing a web application, handling errors gracefully is a crucial part of the user experience. One of the most common errors that users encounter is the 404 Page Not Found error. Rather than presenting users with the default 404 error, it's always a good idea to provide a custom 404 page that aligns with your application's look and feel.

Why Custom 404?

Importance for User Experience

Having a custom 404 page keeps the user engaged with your application. A well-designed 404 page can provide navigation options, helpful resources, and even a touch of humor. This prevents users from immediately bouncing off your website and may even encourage them to explore other sections.

Importance for SEO

Search engines like Google also consider your website's error-handling capabilities as a ranking factor. Having a custom 404 page can improve your site's SEO by providing links to other parts of your site, thus maintaining the flow of link equity. It can also give search engines a better understanding of your site structure.

Customizing a 404 Page in Laravel 10

Modify the Exception Handler

To configure a customized 404 page in Laravel 10, you'll have to make some changes to the Handler class within your application's Exceptions directory. Here's a sample code to guide you:

<?php


class Handler extends ExceptionHandler
{
   

    public function register(): void
    {
        $this->reportable(function (Throwable $e) {
            //
        });
        $this->renderable(function (NotFoundHttpException $e, $request) {
            return response()->view('errors.404', [], 404);
        });
    }
}

In this code, we've overridden the renderable method to catch instances of NotFoundHttpException. When such an exception occurs, we respond with a custom view, which we've named errors.404.

Create the Custom 404 View

To make your own personalized 404 page in Blade, you'll need 1. Here's some code to show you how to make a 404 page that matches the style of the rest of your site.

Here is the errors.404 View:

@extends('layouts.theme.main')

@section('mainContent')
<div class="breadcrumbarea" data-aos="fade-up">
  <!-- ... Your HTML code ... -->
  <h3>404 - Page Not Found</h3>
  <p>It seems you've ventured off the beaten path. The page you're looking for has either moved or does not exist. But don't worry, we're here to guide you back!</p>
  <a class="default__button" href="{{ url()->previous() }}">Go Back</a>
</div>
@endsection

In this view, we use Blade templating to extend the main layout and inject our custom 404 content. We also use a "Go Back" button to navigate to the previous URL, enhancing the user experience.

Conclusion

Optimizing your site for search engines and providing a better user experience are both possible with a custom 404 page developed with Laravel 10. This basic but crucial function may have a huge impact on how your software is received and utilized. This tutorial will walk you through the process of creating a personalized 404 page for use in your Laravel 10 project.