How To Create a Custom 404 Error Page in Joomla

#2 Create the new 404 article

• Click on Create to create your new article,

• First, indicate a title for your article (for example: 404 error article),

• Add your content in the text area and fill all the relevant infos you may need for your article (meta description, author, etc.),
  

• Once you've done, click on the blue button Save & Close in the bottom of the popup,

• Click on the green button Save on the top left of your page,

Now, Joomla had generated the URL of your article index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=XX (where XX is the ID of your article). Select and copy it to your clipboard.

• Click on the Save & Close button.

In the list of the menu items, note the ID of your 404 menu item. Copy it.

#3 Edit the template

• From your admin panel, navigate to Extensions, then Templates and Templates,
  

• Click on your template to open it,

• In the left list, click on error.php to open this file in the editor,
  

• Just right after:

  defined('_JEXEC') or die;

  add this code:

  if (($this->error->getCode()) == '404') {
  	header('Location: ' . Jroute::_("index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=XXItemid=YY", false));
  	exit;
  }

  Check that the XX is the ID of your article and the YY is the ID of your menu item created in the previous step.

  

• Click on the Save & Close button.

Conclusion

Open any page of your website and add any dummy contenu in the URL. Your 404 error page must be displayed now.

For information, a 404 error page is also a good occasion to display something useful, informative, fun or completly offbeat for your visitors.
Don't hesitate to post your custom 404 error pages in the comments below.