Error 404 Page not found and redirect 301

Few days ago I check the performance vmancer.com through Google Webmaster Tool. And I was surprised to find there are about 100 pages with the status error 404 – page not found. Whereas before I never found it. What’s wrong?

Flashback

Few weeks earlier (maybe a month ago), I replace Platinum SEO plugin with WordPress SEO (Yoast). I also remove the sitemap  that is formed from the Table of Content plugin and replace it with html table of contents. This may cause…..

More flashback

Initially I used permalinks structure of the year and the month behind the domain as a standard, and then make changes using permalinks with postname directly, simultaneously when installing Platinum SEO. Platinum SEO have feature automatic 301 redirect so that these changes do not bring a bad influence.

Current

As a layman who can only write, and do not know anything else supporters….. I am confused and start figuring out how to solve this problem. Some of my friends that I often ask for help may be busy and never online. So I can only find by my self through Google Search.

I found many results from there but could not implement it because I do not quite understand.

I did….. (but did not know it was true or false)

Error 404 means page not found. Maybe the page does not exist, there might be but using different URL, or the other. That struck my blog is because of the different URLs. Looked at the Webmaster Tool, the status of error on the page with the old permalinks (with years and months before the slug). So if you eliminate the year and the date in the URL it …. will be able to read the article as usual. Redirect 301 is the answer for this case.

How to implement it?

As I understand that there are two ways to apply them.

1. With Redirection WordPress plugin (the easiest way)

Install Redirection WordPress plugin, then enter the Redirection menu. Enter the old URL as the source and new URL as target. This is done one by one for each page in error due to changes in permalinks. Look at the picture below.

More info and download Redirection.

2. directly edit htaccess file

Not difficult, just a little dangerous. Advised to make a backup first. This file is located on installation directory of WordPress but hidden so it’s rather difficult to find. If you use WordPress SEO, this will be easily found through the Edit Files. Here you write the format command Redirect 301 followed by oldURL then newURL. For example:

redirect 301 /2010/06/push-email-nokia-messaging/ http://vmancer.com/push-email-nokia-messaging/

One command line for a 301 redirect page. Enter the command above on the top line htaccess.

This command code can be typed first on Notepad or another text editor or use the free services of Free .htaccess Redirect Generator.

You only need to take the code that has been generated and then copy-paste to the htaccess file.

I just step out >>> this could also be done from CPanel. Turns out the command that is inserted directly in the htaccess file also exist in cpanel as shown in the picture below.

I do not know whether this way will solving the problem so that the status of “page not found – error 404” will be not appear at Webmaster Central. Nevertheless, I have to find solutions for other errors (not followed).

Update >>> It worked. 404 error was reduced.

Other related article from other blog: 301 redirects: a dangerous one way street!