Custom 404s and main-page redirects on a short domain

People type the bare domain

Anyone who sees go.yourbrand.com/spring on a poster will eventually type go.yourbrand.com on its own. Without a main-page redirect they get an error page on your branded domain, which looks broken.

Set the root redirect first

Point the bare domain at your homepage, or at a campaign hub. It is one field and it converts a dead end into a visit.

Then handle mistyped slugs

A custom 404 destination catches every typo, every truncated URL in a print run, and every link you deleted. Sending them to a relevant landing page recovers traffic you would otherwise lose silently.

Deleting links needs the 404 set first

The order matters. Set the 404 destination, then delete old links. Do it the other way round and every deleted link is a dead end until you notice.

Watch the 404 report

A spike in unknown-slug traffic usually means a printed URL has a typo, a link was deleted while still in circulation, or somebody is scanning your domain for slugs. All three are worth knowing about.

Keep the branded page on-brand

If you serve a 404 page rather than redirecting, theme it with your colours, logo and a search or contact link. A generic error page on your own domain undermines the trust the branded domain was supposed to build.