3 reasons why you should put something else on your 404 error page rather than just a plain missing page error message. When visitors to your site arrive on a 404 error page (missing page) and just see an error message about that page is missing you can instead show other content from your site. Leaving that 404 error page as-is will cause confusion. You should leave the basic 404 error message but instead of just an error message. You should try adding on of these things to your custom 404 error page.
Show recent new blog posts or content
Instead of just a regular old error message you can instead show new blog posts. You should also have the 404 error message shown somewhere on the page but the other content should be about what’s new and happening on your site. If your link is broken and your visitors land on a 404 error page. You can still tell your visitors what new and exciting things that your business is doing.
Show your products and what you are trying to sell
If you sell products you can show the different products that you offer. This can be in a form of a gallery or simply image slide show. You can also add a comparison of products if your site features only a handful of different items. This will help keep your visitors interested in your product.
Ask for feedback
You can also solicit feedback and comment from your visitor. Besides having the 404 error message. You can ask that the visitor send your a message about what they were looking for and you can reply back later. This way you can keep in touch with a potential customer.
Fix your 404
If you notice a bunch of 404 error messages in your server log. You should promptly fix them and not let them be there for too long. A 404 error page can cause you to lose potential customers.