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404 Solution

404 Solution

By Aaron
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Description

Stop losing visitors to broken links. 404 Solution doesn’t just redirect errors to your homepage – it uses advanced spell-checking and intelligent matching algorithms to find the actual page your visitor was trying to reach.

When a visitor hits a broken link like /prodcut/awesome-item (typo), most plugins redirect them to your homepage where they get lost and leave. 404 Solution is different – it automatically finds /product/awesome-item and redirects them to the right place.

Why 404 Solution is Different

Intelligent URL Matching – Uses sophisticated algorithms (N-gram similarity, Levenshtein distance, multi-word matching) to find the closest existing page, not just blindly redirect to homepage.

Spell-Checking Technology – Automatically handles typos and URL variations so visitors find what they want even when they misspell URLs.

Zero Configuration – Works perfectly out of the box with smart defaults. Advanced users have full control over every aspect.

WooCommerce Optimized – Specifically designed to work with products, categories, variations, and custom post types.

Core Features

  • Automatic intelligent redirects based on the best possible match for the URL
  • 404 error logging with detailed visitor data and referrer information
  • Manual redirect creation for specific URLs to any existing page
  • Page suggestions shortcode to display matches on custom 404 pages
  • Automatic cleanup removes redirects when URLs match new pages or are no longer used
  • Regular expression support for advanced redirect patterns
  • Debug logging to troubleshoot redirect behavior
  • Performance optimized for sites with 10,000+ pages

How It Works

  1. Visitor hits a broken link (404 error)
  2. 404 Solution analyzes the URL and compares it to all your existing pages
  3. Intelligent matching finds the closest match using spell-checking algorithms
  4. Visitor is automatically redirected to the correct page
  5. You can review all 404s and create custom redirects as needed

Perfect For

  • eCommerce sites (WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads) with changing product URLs
  • Content sites with evolving permalink structures
  • Migrated sites where old URLs need to map to new content
  • Large sites with thousands of pages where manual redirects are impractical
  • Any WordPress site that wants to provide better user experience

What Makes This Different From Other Redirect Plugins?

vs. Redirection – Redirection requires manual redirect rules. 404 Solution automatically finds matches using intelligent algorithms.

vs. 404 to 301 – 404 to 301 redirects everything to your homepage. 404 Solution finds the actual page visitors want.

vs. Simple 301 Redirects – Simple 301 only does manual redirects. 404 Solution creates intelligent automatic redirects based on URL similarity.

Technical Details

  • Supports 301 (permanent) and 302 (temporary) redirects
  • N-gram similarity scoring for fast matching
  • Spell-checking with Levenshtein distance calculation
  • Custom post type support (products, events, portfolios, etc.)
  • Taxonomy-aware (categories, tags, custom taxonomies)
  • Query parameter preservation
  • Referrer tracking and logging
  • IP address logging (GDPR-compliant hashing available)
  • Automatic performance optimization for large sites

Note: For high-traffic sites with thousands of simultaneous users, disable “Create automatic redirects” and avoid using the shortcode to ensure optimal performance.

Screenshots

  • Intelligent Redirect Dashboard – See automatic matches in action with confidence scores
  • 404 Error Logs – Track all 404 errors with visitor data, referrers, and timestamps
  • Easy Redirect Creation – Create manual redirects with autocomplete and validation

Installation

  1. Unzip the files and upload the contents to /wp-content/plugins/.
  2. Activate the plugin.
  3. Use the Settings -> 404 Solution options page to set the options.

FAQ

How is this different from Redirection plugin?

Redirection requires you to manually create redirect rules for each broken URL. 404 Solution automatically finds the best matching page using intelligent algorithms.

Example: If a visitor tries /prodcut/awesome-item (typo), Redirection won’t do anything unless you manually created that specific redirect. 404 Solution automatically finds /product/awesome-item and redirects them there.

Use Redirection when: You need complete manual control over every redirect.
Use 404 Solution when: You want automatic intelligent redirects that understand typos and URL variations.

How is this different from 404 to 301?

404 to 301 redirects ALL 404 errors to your homepage (or one specific page). 404 Solution finds the actual page the visitor was looking for.

Example: A visitor tries to access /category/electronics which doesn’t exist. 404 to 301 sends them to your homepage where they’re lost. 404 Solution finds /shop/electronics and redirects them there.

404 to 301 is simpler but provides a worse user experience. 404 Solution is smarter and keeps visitors engaged.

Will this slow down my site?

No, 404 Solution is highly optimized and has minimal performance impact for most sites. The plugin uses:
* N-gram indexing for fast URL matching
* Performance optimizations for large sites (10,000+ pages)
* Efficient database queries with proper caching

Important: For very high-traffic sites with thousands of simultaneous users, disable “Create automatic redirects” and don’t use the shortcode to ensure optimal performance.

Does it work with WooCommerce?

Yes! 404 Solution is specifically optimized for WooCommerce and handles:
* Products and product variations
* Product categories and tags
* Custom product URLs
* Shop pages and archives

When products are renamed or URLs change, 404 Solution automatically redirects old URLs to the new product pages.

How does the intelligent matching work?

404 Solution uses multiple algorithms to find the best match:

  1. Spell-checking – Uses Levenshtein distance to find pages with similar spelling
  2. N-gram similarity – Compares character sequences to find similar URLs
  3. Word matching – Identifies pages with similar words in the URL
  4. URL structure – Considers the structure and length of URLs

These algorithms work together to find the most likely page the visitor intended to reach.

Will it redirect existing pages by mistake?

No. 404 Solution ONLY processes actual 404 errors (pages that don’t exist). It will never redirect an existing page.

If you’re experiencing unexpected redirects, check:
1. Did the page exist when the redirect was created?
2. Are other plugins causing conflicts?
3. Enable debug logging (Options page) to see exactly what’s happening

How long does it take for 404 URLs to start showing up?

Immediately! As long as “Capture incoming 404 URLs” is enabled, 404 errors appear in the captured list as soon as a visitor hits a 404 page.

Will this plugin handle permalink changes?

Yes! 404 Solution records the page/post ID number and looks up the most current permalink before redirecting. This means:
* If you change your permalink structure, redirects automatically update
* If you rename a page, redirects point to the new URL
* No manual updates needed when URLs change

Can I redirect all 404s to a specific page?

Yes. Go to 404 Solution Options Redirect all unhandled 404s to and select your preferred page. This is useful for:
* Custom 404 pages with special messaging
* Fallback pages when no good match is found
* Temporary catch-all during site migrations

How do I manage log files and disk usage?

Log cleanup is automatic! Configure it under Options General Settings Maximum log disk usage. You can:
* Set maximum log size (as low as 1MB)
* Auto-delete old entries when limit is reached
* Manually clear logs anytime from the Logs page

What does “captured 404 URLs to be processed” mean?

This just means visitors tried to access pages that don’t exist – completely normal! You can:

Option 1: Ignore the message by adjusting Options General Settings Admin notification level

Option 2: Process them by going to Captured 404 URLs page and either:
* Let automatic redirects handle them
* Create manual redirects to specific pages
* Mark them to ignore

Can I exclude certain URLs from being processed?

Yes! Go to Options Advanced Settings Files and Folders Ignore Strings and add the paths you want to ignore. Common exclusions:
* /wp-admin/* – Admin pages
* /wp-content/* – Media files
* *.jpg, *.png – Image files
* /feed/* – RSS feeds

How do I see IP addresses in the logs?

Enable “Log raw IPs” in the settings. Note: For GDPR compliance, consider using hashed IPs instead of raw IP addresses.

Does this work with custom post types?

Yes! 404 Solution supports ALL custom post types including:
* WooCommerce products
* Events (The Events Calendar, Event Espresso)
* Portfolios
* Team members
* Custom content types

Can I use regular expressions for redirects?

Yes! 404 Solution supports regex patterns for advanced redirect rules. This is useful for:
* Redirecting multiple similar URLs with one rule
* Pattern-based matching
* Complex URL transformations

Is this GDPR compliant?

Yes. 404 Solution includes GDPR-friendly features:
* Option to hash IP addresses before storage
* Automatic log cleanup/retention limits
* No external data transmission
* Full control over what data is logged

What kind of support is available?

404 Solution is actively maintained with:
* WordPress.org support forum (free community support)
* Regular updates and bug fixes
* Debug logging to troubleshoot issues
* Comprehensive documentation

For urgent issues, enable debug logging and post in the support forum with details.

Have you written any other programs?

Check out AJ Experience for other useful tools and resources.

Reviews

Works as expected; fast support!

Abril 30, 2025 1 reply
I haven’t tried all of the features that this plugin has to offer as I intended to just use it temporarily to redirect users to a designated 404 page, but it does so much more. I really appreciate the logs that show me the crazy urls people/bots are trying to access. Had a minor issue with a php notice that I reported, and the developer quickly jumped on it and released an update. Kudos!

Type to filter error

Enero 1, 2024 2 replies
Ajax error when I want to search in the filtering section. I get Result: “parsererror”, error: {} error. Is there a solution? Thank you in advance for your reply.

I am SO happy to find this plugin…

Oktubre 10, 2024 1 reply
I am SO happy to find this plugin…… It is head and shoulders above every other similar plugin, in every way… Thank you so MUCH for making it available… 🙏🌻 P.S… Plus, when an issue did come up later, after I first did this review, the plugin author fixed it nicely in a timely manner…
Read all 41 reviews

Contributors & Developers

“404 Solution” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

“404 Solution” has been translated into 3 locales. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.

Translate “404 Solution” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

Version 3.1.1 (Dec 11, 2025)

  • FIX: Make index creation idempotent for idx_requested_url_timestamp (skip existing index, use IF NOT EXISTS when supported) to stop duplicate-key errors during upgrades.
  • FIX: Harden log queue flushing with validation/sanitization, duplicate-tolerant inserts, and better error reporting to avoid lost 404 log entries.
  • Compatibility: Explicit str_getcsv escape parameter for PHP 8.4+ to silence deprecation notices.
  • Security: Escaped filterText SQL path in ajax pagination to block the reported SQL injection vector (only exploitable by authenticated admin users).

Version 3.1.0 (Dec 6, 2025)

  • Feature: Async 404 page suggestions – Custom 404 pages sometimes load instantly while suggestions compute in the background.
  • Feature: Per-post redirect toggle – Control automatic slug-change redirects on individual posts/pages in Classic Editor, Gutenberg, and Quick Edit.
  • Feature: Add Arabic language and RTL layout support.
  • Improvement: Optimize category/tag queries for better performance.
  • Improvement: Accessibility – WCAG 2.1 AA compliance with table headers, focus indicators, ARIA labels, modal focus trapping, and reduced motion support.
  • Improvement: Performance optimization for spell-checking on large sites (N-gram indexing, reduced database queries, memory optimization).
  • FIX: Handle corrupted database records gracefully without PHP warnings.

Version 3.0.8 (Nov 29, 2025)

  • Improvement: Feedback emails now include database collation info even on locked-down hosts (fallback chain for information_schema restrictions).
  • FIX: Tooltip z-index issue where destination tooltips appeared behind sticky table header.

Version 3.0.7 (Nov 28, 2025)

  • Improvement: Load admin pages faster. Load redirects faster.
  • Improvement: Add a two question wizard/setup screen for new users.
  • Improvement: Add warning icon when a redirect URL looks like regex but isn’t marked as one.
  • Improvement: Add loading spinner when searching for redirect destinations.
  • Security: Multiple security hardening improvements including CSRF protection and XSS prevention.
  • FIX: Save settings correctly when using simple mode on the options page.
  • FIX: Simple page allows changing the default 404 page destination now.
  • FIX: Dark mode checkbox no longer flashes on page load.
  • FIX: Setup wizard form submission now works correctly.

Version 3.0.6 (Nov 27, 2025)

  • FIX: Resolve fatal error “Class ABJ_404_Solution_DataAccess not found” during plugin uninstallation. The Uninstaller now works standalone without requiring the plugin’s autoloader.

Version 3.0.5 (Nov 27, 2025)

  • Improvement: Options page has Simple/Advanced mode.
  • Improvement: Made the plugin prettier in general.

Version 3.0.4 (Nov 24, 2025)

  • FIX: Resolve SQL error “Could not perform query because it contains invalid data” caused by invalid UTF-8 byte sequences in URLs. Added sanitization to strip invalid UTF-8 characters before database storage.
  • FIX: Resolve “Table doesn’t exist” errors on case-sensitive MySQL installations (lower_case_table_names=0) with mixed-case WordPress prefixes. All plugin table references now use normalized lowercase prefixes to match table creation behavior.

Version 3.0.3 (Nov 23, 2025)

  • Improved: GDPR compliance in log files (just in case).
  • Improved: Some missing translation keys.
  • Improved: Deactivation feedback.

Version 3.0.2 (Nov 22, 2025)

  • FIX: Table creation issues on multisite. (Thanks to debug file participants!)

Version 3.0.1 (Nov 20, 2025)

  • Improvement: Use accordions on the settings screen instead of chips.
  • FIX: Division by 0 in the new ngram filter.
  • FIX: Language file format issues for various languages.
  • FIX: Correct the deactivate feedback trigger.
  • FIX: Log slow query content correctly.
  • FIX: Table creation issues on multisites.

Version 3.0.0 (Nov 17, 2025)

  • Improvement: Add themes. Add automatic dark mode detection for WordPress admin.
  • Improvement: Better support and faster suggestions for sites with 10k+ pages.
  • FIX: Resolve MAX_JOIN_SIZE errors for large sites during maintenance operations by using SQL_BIG_SELECTS for cleanup queries.
  • FIX: Resolve MySQL Server Gone Away errors during long-running operations by checking and restoring database connections.
  • FIX: Resolve PHP 8.2 deprecation error when mb_substr receives null for domain root URLs (e.g., http://example.com).
  • FIX: Fix duplicate subpage parameters in admin URLs that were causing URLs like ‘?page=x&subpage=y&subpage=y’.
  • FIX: Add isset() checks before accessing $_POST array elements to prevent PHP 8.0+ warnings.

Version 2.36.10 (April 29, 2025)

  • FIX: Fix the ‘_load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly’ issue again, this time for @apos37.

Version 2.36.9 (April 25, 2025)

  • FIX: Avoid throwing an error when releasing a synchronization lock not owned by the current process, for leehodson.

Version 2.36.8 (April 25, 2025)

  • FIX: Avoid a logging issue while logging a DB error for leehodson.

Version 2.36.7 (April 25, 2025)

  • FIX: Avoid a logging issue while logging a DB error for leehodson.
  • Improvement: Fix some warnings and code issues brought up by intelephense.

Version 2.36.6 (April 15, 2025)

  • Improvement: Page suggestions: when an admin user clicks the score after a suggestion link it gives them some more information about the link like author, post date, etc.
  • Improvement: Page suggestions: add an option to exclude certain URLs from the list of suggested pages on a custom 404 page based on user defined regex patterns.

Version 2.36.5 (February 3, 2025)

  • FIX: Use SHOW CREATE TABLE instead of select from information_schema to get collation data.

Version 2.36.4 (December 13, 2024)

  • FIX: Ensure parent classes are loaded before their children to possibly resolve inheritance issues with autoloading. (thanks debug file participants)

Version 2.36.3 (November 28, 2024)

  • FIX: Handle arrays in query parameters without logging an error.

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