What causes 404 errors on my store?
404 errors happen when someone tries to open a page that doesn't exist. Common reasons include:
Products or pages being deleted
URLs being changed (e.g., editing a product slug)
Collections being removed
Old links still pointing to removed pages
Typos or invalid links on your own site or on external websites
How does the 404 monitor work?
The 404 monitor tracks broken links on your store in real time. When a visitor, bot, or search engine crawler lands on a page that returns a 404 error, it's automatically recorded — including the URL, referrer, and user agent. Use this data to identify and fix broken links before they hurt your SEO or customer experience.
Will this affect my store's performance?
No. The 404 monitor adds a very tiny script only on 404 pages, so it doesn't affect the rest of your store.
What's the difference between the summary and detailed views?
The summary view groups 404 hits by URL and shows the total hit count, first seen, and last seen dates for each. This is the best view for prioritizing which URLs to fix first.
The detailed view shows every individual 404 hit with extra columns like referrer and user agent. This helps you trace where the broken links are coming from — whether it's another website, a bot, or a search engine crawler.
How do I fix 404 errors?
The most common fix is to create a redirect from the broken URL to the correct page. You can do this under Content → Menus → URL redirects.
If the URL was deleted intentionally and has no suitable replacement, you can leave it as is — Shopify will return a 404, and search engines will eventually drop it from their index.
Does the tool automatically fix 404 errors?
No. The 404 monitor only identifies and lists 404 pages. You stay in full control of what to do next: restore the page, create a redirect, or ignore it.
Why isn't there an auto-fix or bulk redirect option?
Some apps offer a button to redirect all 404 URLs to the homepage, but this is widely discouraged by SEO experts. Google treats irrelevant redirects as soft 404s — the redirect is effectively ignored because the destination content doesn't match what was expected. It can also confuse visitors who clicked a link expecting specific content.
A redirect should only point to a genuinely relevant replacement — for example, when you fix a typo in a URL, change a product slug, or merge two pages. If no relevant replacement exists, a clean 404 is the correct response. Google has confirmed that 404 errors are a normal part of the web and don't harm your site's overall rankings.
What does revalidation do and how long does it take?
Revalidation checks all your 404 URLs to see if they now return a valid response (like 200 OK or a redirect). This is useful after you've fixed broken links and want to confirm the fixes are working.
The process runs in the background and may take hours or days depending on the number of URLs — you don't need to keep the page open. Results appear in the status column of the summary view once complete.
You can run revalidation whenever you've fixed a batch of broken links.
What do the revalidation status badges mean?
After revalidation completes, each URL in the summary view shows a status:
Fixed — returns 200 OK
Redirected — returns a redirect (301, 302, 307, or 308)
Still 404 — still returns a 404 error
Rate limited — the server rate-limited the check (the URL will be retried)
Check failed — the URL could not be reached (e.g., timeout or DNS failure)
If a URL gets a new 404 hit after being marked as fixed or redirected, it will automatically be rechecked in the next revalidation.
Can I export the 404 data?
Yes. Use the export button to download a CSV file of all your 404 URLs. This is useful for sharing with your team or importing into a spreadsheet for bulk redirect planning.
Can I pause the 404 monitor?
Yes. Open the Settings modal from the 404 monitor page to pause or resume tracking. While paused, no new 404 errors are recorded, but your existing data is preserved.
Do I need technical knowledge to fix 404 errors?
Not usually. Most 404 issues can be fixed by either:
Updating the broken link (recommended for typos/invalid links), or
Creating a redirect if the old URL should send visitors to a relevant new page
Who should use the 404 monitor?
This feature is ideal for stores that:
Frequently update products, collections, or pages
Change URLs, migrate themes, or restructure navigation
Want better SEO hygiene and a smoother customer experience
Need more help? If you still have questions about 404 errors or need help resolving them, feel free to contact our support team, we're happy to assist.