Redirect 404 to Homepage documentation
Send visitors who land on a page that doesn’t exist to your homepage, or to a page you choose, instead of an error page.
Overview
Old links, typos and deleted pages all end on an error page, and many visitors leave from there.
Plan: Free. Everything on this page is in the free plugin.
Setup
- Go to WP Extended in your WordPress admin and find Redirect 404 to Homepage under Security & Privacy.
- Switch Redirect 404 to Homepage on.
- Open its settings, adjust the options below and save.
Settings
| Setting | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Redirect Type | A temporary redirect tells search engines the missing URL has not moved for good. | Free |
| Page | Falls back to the homepage if this page is unpublished or deleted. | Free |
| Excluded Paths | One path per line. These return a normal 404 instead of redirecting. End a path with * to exclude everything beneath it. | Free |
Questions and troubleshooting
Is Redirect 404 to Homepage free?
Yes. It is in the free plugin.
Is this good for SEO?
Use it as a safety net. For pages that moved, a redirect to the matching new page is better, because search engines can treat mass redirects to the homepage as soft 404s. If you use it, choose a temporary (302) redirect, so search engines don’t treat every missing URL as moved for good.
Can I stop some URLs from redirecting?
Yes. Add them to Excluded Paths, one per line. /old-page excludes that path only, and /archive/* excludes everything beneath it.
It isn’t working as expected
Check the module is switched on and its settings are saved. If another plugin does the same job, deactivate one of them. Then clear any page cache and test again. Still stuck? Pro customers can contact support; free users can post on the WordPress.org forum.