A Blogger 404 error means the requested page cannot be found at the URL the visitor used. It may happen because a link was mistyped, a post was never published, an old permalink changed, or the content was intentionally removed.
Not every 404 is an emergency, and not every one needs a redirect. This guide helps you identify the cause, fix broken links you control, and keep visitors from getting lost when a page truly no longer exists.
First, confirm exactly which URL fails
Copy the full broken address, including the domain and path. Compare it with the URL shown by Blogger for the intended published post. Look for an incorrect year or month, a missing hyphen, a changed slug, or an added character.
Test the address in a private browser window. A broken URL that only occurs in an old social post or an email may be a link typo rather than a problem with the entire site.
Step 1: Check the post's status in Blogger
- Open Blogger and select the correct blog.
- Go to Posts and search for the article title or a distinctive word.
- Check whether the post is Published, Draft, or in the trash.
- If it is published, use Blogger's own View link to get the real permalink.
- Compare that published URL with the link returning 404.
A draft is not a public article, so linking to its proposed URL will fail. Keep future article addresses in your editorial plan until they have been published and verified.
Step 2: Check the link's path and domain
Look for a mismatch between blogspot.com and your custom domain, an older URL slug, a missing hyphen, or an incorrect path. Changing the domain can introduce redirect issues, but a true 404 for one post often comes down to the specific path. A URL fragment after # is not sent to the server and does not, by itself, cause an HTTP 404.
Do not assume the old path should redirect to a different article simply because the domain itself works.
Step 3: Repair internal links at their source
When a working post contains a link to a broken address, edit that post and replace the link with the correct published destination. Use descriptive text so readers know what they will find. If the intended article no longer exists, remove the link or replace it only with a genuinely relevant resource.
Check header menus, sidebars, footer links, and image links too. A navigation menu leading to a deleted page makes the site feel unfinished.
Step 4: Check Google Search Console evidence
In the verified Search Console property, review the page indexing report for not-found URLs. Inspect a representative URL and confirm that the reported path is the one you expect.
Google's HTTP status guidance explains that 404 and 410 responses tell crawlers a URL is not available. Seeing an obsolete URL in a report is not proof that an unrelated working article is broken.
Prioritize broken links that real readers still click, important internal navigation, and valuable pages that were removed by mistake. A small blog does not need to “fix” every random misspelled URL on the internet.
Step 5: Choose a meaningful next action
- Link typo: Correct the link where you control it.
- Accidentally unpublished post: Restore the intended post only after checking its content and publication status.
- Permanent move: If a strong, relevant replacement exists, consider a permanent custom redirect.
- Deliberately removed page with no replacement: A real 404 is acceptable; keep navigation clean.
- Entire custom domain failing: Diagnose domain and redirect configuration rather than editing individual post links.
Blogger provides Custom 404 and Custom redirects settings in its settings area. A custom 404 message can help readers return to useful pages, but it does not turn a missing URL into a published article.
How to write a useful custom 404 message
A good not-found page should acknowledge the problem and provide one or two clear ways forward. For example:
“We couldn't find that page. The link may be outdated or the article may have moved. Please return to the homepage or use the main navigation to find a related guide.”
Do not fill the 404 page with an enormous list of unrelated article links. Its job is to help people recover, not pretend the requested content still exists.
Common Blogger 404 questions
Why does an article show as a draft but its old link gives 404?
Draft posts are not public. Confirm whether it should be published and review its content before changing status.
Can I fix a 404 by changing the blog's permalink settings?
Not usually. A specific broken link is best diagnosed at the exact URL. Avoid changing established permalinks to solve isolated typos.
Should I redirect every 404 to the homepage?
No. Generic redirects often mislead visitors. Use relevant replacements only when the old content has genuinely moved.
Will Google penalize my entire Blogger site for one 404?
One ordinary missing URL is not a sitewide penalty. Focus on important pages, internal link quality, and whether the status accurately reflects what exists.
Check for a soft 404 before redirecting
A real 404 means the server reports that the requested resource does not exist. A soft 404 is different: a page may return a successful HTTP response while displaying little more than “not found” or an error message. Google may classify that response as a soft 404 because the content does not match the success status. A redirect to the homepage can create another kind of misleading outcome when the destination has nothing to do with the requested post.
If you are unsure which response is being served, use your browser's Network panel or ask the site administrator to check the HTTP status code. Compare the public URL with Blogger's actual published permalink before changing anything. If the right article is missing from the dashboard, a theme change will not restore that content.
Keep a small record of high-priority broken links
For each important broken URL, note where you found the link, the HTTP response, the intended destination, and what you changed. After a correction, test the old link from the original page and the new destination on a phone as well as desktop. If you updated an older article during the repair, the blog content refresh checklist can help you check the rest of that article without turning a simple 404 repair into a full site redesign.
A simple monthly link check
Review the most important navigation and a small sample of older posts. Confirm that links still resolve, note the broken source URLs, and fix those you control. When an article has moved, document the old and new paths so future updates do not recreate the same problem.