Picture this. You have a user with a short fuse, browsing your site, accidentally running to a page that doesn’t exist. Oops! You would think that they’d be super annoyed. But then – bam! You surprise them with a funny 404-page design that makes them laugh out loud really hard and super willing to give you a second chance! Sounds good? I thought so. No site can ever be safe from giving a 404 error; even one skipped letter will take you there. It’s best to be prepared with a backup plan to prevent those valuable users from leaving and encourage them to spend more time on your domain. If you are out of ideas to make your 404 page funny and entertaining, hopefully I’m coming to the rescue here! Enjoy 31 hilarious, awkward, and quite engaging 404-page error examples that will give you ideas to work on your own 404-page design. Let’s begin!
1. Visit Steve
Okay, this 404 page is so awkward that is in fact genius and hilarious! The author, Steve, is in an empty room, trying to maintain a weird conversation with you while you decide on your next step. True, it might be one of the strangest error web pages you will ever encounter but it does make you keep watching to see if anything will happen. So, it serves its purpose perfectly – keeps you longer on the site, engages you, entertains you, and gives you options for how to proceed further. Go ahead and watch it!
2. Slack
A good interactive animation always works! Well, in this case, the guys from Slack really did a great job offering you an interactive experience once you accidentally come to their 404 error page. Once you start moving your cursor left and right, you will find that you are discovering a cool new environment, plus you can interact with the funny hens and pigs that walk around. Why don’t you try it out?
3. Marvel
Marvel definitely went the extra mile and created a series of funny 404-page designs, all themed around their comics and heroes.
I would be lying if I told you I didn’t keep on refreshing their error page to see more of their 404 thematic jokes. But hey, who wouldn’t? All fans would enjoy it for sure.
4. Gog
A black hole reference always works great, especially if you are into the galactic stuff. Well, considering the site is all devoted to video games, there are pretty high chances that its visitors will enjoy this reference which, by the way, literally looks like you are about to enter a whole new universe.
Sadly, you can’t go any further from here, and you will have to go back to browsing some other page. But it did keep you on the site, right?
5. Myriad
There is something cute in the retro things. They bring us nice memories of past times that we have forgotten. This website’s 404 page reminds us of the good old TV “no signal” errors in the 90s and 2000s. One mistake unexpectedly takes us 20 years back. And when you are nostalgic and sentimental, you just can’t be mad!
6. Orangecoat
A simple yes and no flowing chart can turn into a super fun activity, especially when not expected! These flowcharts do keep you engaged because they pique your curiosity about what question follows next and what result you’ll get in the end. This funny 404 page is written in a super friendly and entertaining manner that will make you want to get to know these guys, even if this error page is the very first page you’ve encountered on this site.
7. Cloudsigma
It doesn’t matter if you are a cat person or a dog person – this cat trying to do some coding is simply hilarious! And adorable at the same time. The guys from Cloudsigma definitely break the stereotype that the ITs are boring by delivering a super funny joke on their 404 error page. Spot on!
8. Homestarrunner
“OH MAN! 404’d!!!!” This error page here shows a funny animation – a guy throwing arrows at a girl, saying “404’d” like “You’ve been tricked”. Still not sure why the page suggests checking out their old site. It pretty much doesn’t lead you anywhere you wanna be. Well, in the end, it seems like they might be the ones who got tricked by their own joke.
9. Blizzard
Okay, this is actually cool! An animated 404 error page, themed with a character of their most famous game, completely in the spirit of their user’s interest in the moment. I admit it – I would want to be guided back to safety by this cute Murloc, as well! The way he looks around with confusion is super adorable. And the fact that the CTA button is also customized with what would probably be some Murloc word, makes the user completely indulge in the scenario.
10. Mysweetdreams
The sleeping potions they sell are so good that even the brand’s team itself falls asleep! This funny 404 page actually advertises the product very well, in a non-disturbing and intruding way, making the visitor want to learn more instead of leaving.
11. MailChimp
How catchy a 404 page can be? If you come to MailChimp’s error page, you’ll be surprised by the answer. On their error page, you will see a horse whose head is stuck in a hole. Ouch! From here, you can go back to Home or you can click on the horse and start a super fun game called “HorseSnake”! I won’t lie. One of our colleagues spent 10 minutes playing it. This very funny 404 page is actually one of our favorites.
12. Lazyoaf
Try not to laugh while reading this error’s page hilarious message! They definitely did an awesome job entertaining a lost user but that’s not all. When you look around, you’ll see three folders named “Dogs”, ”Memes”, and “Company Secrets”, making you full of curiosity to see what’s hidden inside. I won’t be lying if I told you I checked all three of them only to find out that they simply bring you back to the main page.
13. Romain Brasier
Even the simplest game can make you engaged for hours! Romain Brasier’s ever-going game is an awesome example of a super simple but very catchy error page game. Lemmings fall from the sky, smashing when they hit the ground, and all you have to do is save as much as possible by clicking on them. I challenge you to try!
14. Amazon.com
Thinking of Amazon, the first thing that comes to mind is that the error page might try to sell us something. Instead, when you open up the 404 page, you will see…cute puppies! And yes, I am saying it in plural because every time you refresh, you will see a different dog. So adorable. And engaging!
15. Playbill
Even if you don’t have the resource to make a game or an interactive animation for your 404 error page, it’s always a good idea to use something catchy and clever. Playbill was right on spot using a popular phrase from a song by Freddie Mercury (Queen) “Show must go on”. It is like “Yeah, you made a wrong choice, but keep looking.” It makes you start humming and keep browsing but empowered with an epic rock melody in your mind.
16. Hugoware.com
A simple animation can have a huge effect! Coming to this error page, you will see a vortex rotating in the middle that seems to have “sucked up” your page. Oops! Next thing you know, all navigation buttons get sucked into the vortex one by one. Funny thing is, you can still click on them!
17. Princeink
Turn the defect into an effect? Here is an idea. The Prince Ink offers you to head over to their 404 shirt’s “secret sale” once you’ve come to their error page. That would have worked fantastic if it led you to an actual thematical 404 tee. However, you get stuck with another 404 pages. Probably they ran out of stock, probably they never meant to have such a tee. And probably, I’ll never know and I feel a bit disappointed here.
18. 20thCenturyStudios
Following the style of the company and all the films they produce, the 404 page of 20th Century Studios is classic and evergreen. They make a funny joke with a character we are all familiar with. Below, you can see a catalog that offers shortcuts to some of the newest productions.
19. Carwow
Carwow’s error page takes you to a retro, Nintendo-like game where you have to drive a car through a road full of obstacles. When you crash the car, a button prompts you to go to a page where you can book yourself a real test drive. This is a classic example of marketing well done!
20. Zendesk
Well, this is creative! I’ve seen many funny error pages already, but this one makes you special in a different way. First off, you see a diagram with statistics claiming that only 0.5% of visitors ever come to this 404 error page, and the rest 99.5% will never see it. It kind of makes you special, doesn’t it?
21. Whisply
Whisply has no intention to wait for you to browse the 404 page at all. Once you come up to an error webpage on this website, you are auto-transferred to the main page in exactly 10 seconds.
22. Spotify
This is Spotify – even the 404 page must be logically connected to music! With a cool and simple illustration and the warning that “This page is out of tune”, this page just doesn’t let you get off of the musical wave.
23. Magnt
Magnt has a really funny 404-page pun, based on the simplest and basic knowledge of how colors work. When you mix “We broke something” (yellow) with “You can’t type” (red), you get a 404 page (orange). Simple and clever.
24. Nouveller
Noveller has made a retro-looking and funny 404 page that can even be described as one of the most absurd error pages I’ve seen. Once you get there, you see “Jungle Babes 1947 by Alan Moore” and a retro programming box that instructs you to type commands, then surprise you in the most unexpected ways. I won’t reveal more. Let’s just say that there are a couple of weird Youtube videos involved, as well.
25. Jumping Jack Rabbit
This funny 404 page shows you hilarious animations of jumping rabbits. The next moment you realize that all of them are involved in a funny game of words that refers to the brand’s name! A jumping rabbit called Jack, a rabbit performing Jumping Jacks, a jacked rabbit jumping, and so on – they are all there. Hilarious and clever!
26. Tableau
Sasquatch may exist, but on the other hand, this page has no chance of existing. The brand used a very well-known legendary creature to joke with the visitors if they ever come up to the error page. A great example of how to make your 404 page funny with just two extra lines.
27. Leftlogic
Accidentally bumped into our error page? That’s okay. Take your time. Create something funny. They’ll share it with the world. Well, at least this is the logic of Leftlogic. Their error page prompts you to indulge in a relaxing creative activity. After all, who would say no to the opportunity to make a quick drawing of Dart Vader, for example, or anything you want?
28. Pixar
You may not find what you’re looking for when browsing the official Pixar Studio website, but you’ll still meet a cute funny character which is always a win.
29. HTTP Cat
This site has different status codes. Some of them are funny, others somewhat educational, and the 404 page is predictably a funny cat meme. Hey, sometimes the cat doesn’t want to show you stats, it just needs to hide under a pile of papers.
30. Offerman Wood Shop
This is the 404 page for Nick Offerman’s private woodshop business that used to be more spicy (imagine Nick just laying there belly-down across a workbench wearing nothing but a woodworker’s apron) but the sexiness was too much to handle and he changed it into something more tame. Still funny, Nick dashes your hopes and dreams with this page.
31. Chess
This is the only site you need if you love chess- you can play against AI, play against others, learn new chess strategies, watch chess-related videos, or accidentally go to a non-existent page and see this hilarious gif.
Oh, no!
It seems that the conclusion of this funny 404-page collection doesn’t exist Why don’t you head over to these cool articles whose content surely exists and will provide you with lots of inspiration, freebies, and even some insights?