Custom 404 pages and router-level redirect logic with Wix Velo

A 404 error page is one of the most damaging SEO experiences on any website — it tells Googlebot and users that the content they expected is missing. Wix provides a default 404 page, but with Velo you can build a custom 404 experience that retains users and guides them toward relevant content, and you can implement router-level redirect logic to automatically send users from broken URLs to the correct destination. This lesson covers both capabilities.

The SEO Impact of 404 Errors on Wix Sites

404 errors are a normal part of the web, but a site with a large proportion of 404 errors signals poor maintenance to Google. Googlebot wastes crawl budget on 404 URLs, links pointing to 404 pages pass no authority, and users who hit a 404 page typically leave the site immediately (a signal Google interprets negatively). On Wix, common causes of 404 errors include changed page slugs, deleted pages, URL structure changes, and external links to outdated URLs.

Creating a Custom 404 Page in Wix

Setting up a custom 404 page that retains users

• In the Wix Editor, go to Pages & Menu and look for the "Error Pages" section.
• Click on the "404 Page Not Found" entry to open and edit it.
• Design a helpful 404 page that includes: a clear explanation that the page was not found, a search bar, links to your most important pages, and a prominent button to return to the homepage.
• Add your site navigation menu to the 404 page so users can find what they need.
• Include a brief message that encourages users to contact you if they followed a link from another site.
• Publish the changes to make the custom 404 page live.

Implementing Redirect Logic with the Wix Velo Router

Wix Velo's router allows you to intercept URL requests before they are served and programmatically redirect them to different destinations. This is useful for handling predictable 404 patterns: for example, if you changed your URL structure from /services/SEO to /seo-services, you can write a router function that automatically redirects any request for the old pattern to the new URL with a 301 permanent redirect.

// Backend router file: routers.js
// Handles custom routing and redirect logic in Wix Velo
export function services_Router(request) {
  const path = request.path;

  // Redirect old /services/SEO pattern to new /seo-services URL
  if (path[0] === 'SEO' || path[0] === 'seo') {
    return redirect('/seo-services', 301);
  }

  // Redirect old /services/copywriting to new page
  if (path[0] === 'copywriting') {
    return redirect('/copywriting-services', 301);
  }

  // Default: render the services page
  return ok('services-page', { path });
}

function redirect(url, statusCode) {
  return { status: statusCode, redirectUrl: url };
}

Auditing 404 Errors on Your Wix Site

• Google Search Console: check the Coverage report for pages with 404 status under "Excluded" reasons
• Google Search Console: use the URL Inspection tool to spot-check URLs you suspect may have changed
• Screaming Frog: crawl your site and filter for 4xx response codes to find all broken internal links
• GA4: create a custom report filtering on page title "404" to find which URLs users are hitting
• Bing Webmaster Tools: review the crawl errors report for additional 404 data