The Best 404 Pages
Not all 404 pages are created equal.
Most of us will never see a 404 page. In fact, if things are going well on your website, 404 pages shouldn’t normally come up. (For those of you not familiar a 404 page is the error page you get on a website when the page you’re looking for is missing or can’t be found.) In the old days, 404 pages were pretty much blank, outside of the error message itself. They were meant for developers to troubleshoot and debug their websites, really. They were a kind of place-holder page and, at best, an irritant to the average internet browser.
But, as the web grew up and became more sophisticated, so have 404 pages. On many sites, they’ve become a kind of “Easter egg“, offering a look at the wit and sense of humor of the site designers and programmers. What was an annoyance has become a fun bit of art!
Clearly, not even all “fun” 404 pages are created equal, so here are the best 404 Pages according to Gizmodo, one of the premiere gadget and technology blogs. My favorite is the one they feature first, which strikes me as especially funny, considering my frustrations with Match.com lately. There are some really good ones there, some more fun and some more useful than others, but all worth another look. And, even though I know these are Gizmodo’s favorites, there are plenty of good ones that haven’t been listed here. If you have any, please, leave a link in the comments!
And, hey, why not go check out that gallery today? It is, after all, Friday, and surely you’ve earned some slack time by now!
