How to troubleshoot and fix 404 errors: identify broken URLs first, then address the cause

To troubleshoot 404 errors, first identify which URLs return a page-not-found response. Then distinguish between mistyped links, moved content, and content that has genuinely been deleted, and fix the links, set up redirects, or leave the 404 responses in place accordingly. If many errors appear after migrating from Joomla to WordPress, their number alone does not establish that search rankings have suffered. First determine whether the broken URLs belong to removed sample content or important content that still needs to be available. Fixing unexpectedly broken links helps visitors and search engines access content, but does not guarantee a recovery in rankings.

List broken URLs first, rather than focusing only on the total error count

You can use Google Search Console to find URLs that return 404 responses, alongside a site audit tool to check for broken internal and external links. To track down old URLs linked to from other websites, you can also use a broken backlink checker. Identifying which content is still useful matters more than simply clearing every error.

• Check URL spelling and link destinations for extra or missing characters or incorrect paths.
• Confirm whether the original content has moved to a new URL and whether old links still point to its original location.
• Review status codes, URLs, and last request dates in server logs to identify missing pages that are still being requested.

For example, after a site migration, both old sample articles and actual service pages may return 404 responses, but they require different treatment and should not all be redirected to the same destination.

Choose whether to fix links, redirect, or retain 404 responses based on what happened to the content

• Mistyped links: Correct internal links directly. For example, if a link should point to hello-world but says hello-wold, change it to the correct URL. If the error is on another website, you can contact its owner to request a correction.
• Moved content: Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new page. If considering another replacement page, make sure its content is relevant to the original need.
• Content that is still valuable but has disappeared: Consider restoring or recreating it rather than simply sending visitors elsewhere.
• Content that is genuinely no longer needed: Outdated, unimportant pages can continue to return 404 responses. If a nonexistent URL is still listed in the sitemap, remove it.

Accordingly, deleted Joomla sample content that does not need to be retained can be treated as content that is no longer needed. If an actual article has merely moved, find its corresponding page. This categorization is based on the content’s status; it does not establish that switching to WordPress itself caused rankings to fall.

Make error pages helpful, and check the actual response

A user-friendly 404 page can provide site navigation or contact options to help visitors continue looking for content, but it cannot replace fixing broken links. If the site uses a single-page application (SPA), also watch for cases where the screen says content cannot be found but the HTTP response is 200.

Google’s developer documentation notes that this may cause error pages to be indexed. In that situation, you can redirect to a URL that actually returns a 404 response or add noindex. Do not generalize this guidance to mean that all 404 pages need noindex. After making repairs, check the relevant URLs’ responses and request logs again to see whether the original unexpected errors persist.