Create Custom 404 Pages in Joomla

We're going to create an article, add a menu link and then add a little code to a file in your template folder.

Step 1: Create an article

The first step in creating a custom 404 page is to create a new article.

• Title: Create something that is specific to Error 404 since it may be displayed as your browsers title bar.
• Alias: Type in a simple alias, such as 404.
• Category: You can use Uncategorised or create another category.
• Article Text: Add your 404 image or text, or design it however you'd like. In this example, I made my own funny 404 image.

Step 2: Edit Metadata Options

• On the same article, look at the right column and click on the "Metadata Options" tab.
• Select "No index, no follow" to prevent this particular page to be indexed in search engines.
• Save and Close.

Step 3: Create a Hidden Menu

You can view our tutorial on how to create a Hidden menu here.

• Menu Item Type - Select your Error 404 Page article.
• Menu Title - Anything you'd like, such as Error 404 Page.
• Alias - Type in a simple alias, such as 404.

Make sure this menu is not published in a module position so it is not displayed.

Step 3: Copy the Link

Copy the URL from your menu and store it on a notepad since you will be using this URL in your error.php file.

Step 4: Edit the error.php File

Find your error.php file.Usually it is located in "templates/YourTemplate/system/error.php" or in "templates/YourTemplate/error.php".
If you don't have an error.php file, create it in this folder: templates/YourTemplate/error.php.
Please make sure that you have this security code at the top of the file:

 defined( '_JEXEC' ) or die( 'Restricted access');

Now we need our 404 page code.
For Joomla 1.5 use this code:

 if ($this->error->code == '404') { header('Location: /theURLtoYour404Page'); exit; }

For Joomla 2.5 and 3.x use this code:

 if ($this->error->getCode() == '404') { header('Location: /theURLtoYour404Page'); exit; } 

Step 5: Test Your 404

Type in a URL such as yoursite.com/blahblahblah to be redirected to your custom 404 page.