Smart Custom 404 Error Page vs Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)

Bringing visitors to your website takes time and effort. Every visitor is important. The default 404 error page of most themes does not provide any information on what to find on your site. A first-time visitor, who does not know you, is left in a dead end and leaves your website. Set up a helpful custom 404 error page to keep them on your site! This handy plugin allows you to easily create your own 404 error page without any effort and it works with almost every theme. Out of Retirement! NerdPress has adopted Smart Custom 404 Page! Read the announcement here. We’ve been fans of this plugin for many years, and we’re grateful for Peter’s many years of service to the community. Peter retired from plugin development in October 2023, so we’ve jumped in to help ensure this plugin continues to work well now and in the future. Usage Create your custom 404 error page just like any other page using the WordPress Editor (Pages > Add New). Then go to Appearance > 404 Error Page and select the created page as your custom 404 error page. That’s it! Why use this plugin? Unlike similar plugins the 404page plugin does not create redirects. That’s quite important because a correct code 404 is delivered which tells search engines that the page does not exist and has to be removed from the index. Additionally, the 404page plugin does not create additional server requests. Requirements The only requirement for this plugin is that you change the Permalink Structure in Settings > Permalinks to anything else but “Plain.” This also activates the WordPress 404 error handling. Block & Shortcode Block The Plugin offers a block “URL causing 404 error” for the block-based editor to show the URL that caused the error. The block offers three display options: “Page” to show the page including path ( e.g. does/not/exist ) “Domain Path” to show the URL without protocol and parameters ( e.g. example.com/does/not/exist ) “Full” to show the complete URL ( e.g. https://example.com/does/not/exist?p=1 ) Shortcode The Plugin offers a shortcode “pp_404_url” for the classic editor to show the URL that caused the error. There are three possible options: [pp_404_url page] to show the page including path ( e.g. does/not/exist ) [pp_404_url domainpath] to show the URL without protocol and parameters ( e.g. example.com/does/not/exist ) [pp_404_url] or [pp_404_url full] to show the complete URL ( e.g. https://example.com/does/not/exist?p=1 ) Plugin Privacy Information This plugin does not set cookies This plugin does not collect or store any data This plugin does not send any data to external servers For developers Action Hook The plugin adds an action hook 404page_after_404 which you can use to add extra functionality. The exact position the action occurs after an 404 error is detected depends on the Operating Method. Your function must not generate any output. There are no parameters. Constant If the 404page plugin is installed and activated it defines the PHP constant PP_404. Check existence of it to detect the 404page plugin. Functions The Plugin provides the following functions: pp_404_is_active() to check if there is a custom 404 page selected and the selected page exists pp_404_get_page_id() to get the ID of the 404 page pp_404_get_all_page_ids() to get an array of page IDs in all languages pp_404_get_the_url( $type ) to get the URL that caused the 404 error Parameter $type string Optional “page” to get the page including path ( e.g. does/not/exist ) “domainpath” to get the URL without protocol and parameters ( e.g. example.com/does/not/exist ) “full” (default) to get the complete URL ( e.g. https://example.com/does/not/exist?p=1 ) Native Mode If you are a theme developer you can add native support for the 404page plugin to your theme for full control.

Easily improve site security with WordPress Hardening, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Login Protection, Vulnerability Detection and SSL certificate. Really simple, Effective and Performant WordPress Security Really Simple Security is the most lightweight and easy-to-use security plugin for WordPress. It secures your WordPress website with SSL certificate generation, including proper 301 https redirection and SSL enforcement, scanning for possible vulnerabilities, Login Protection and implementing essential WordPress hardening features. We believe that security should have the absolute minimum effect on website performance, user experience and maintainability. Therefore, Really Simple Security is: Lightweight: Every security feature is developed with a modular approach and with performance in mind. Disabled features won’t load any redundant code. Easy-to-use: 1-minute configuration with short onboarding setup. Security Features Easy SSL Migration Migrates your website to HTTPS and enforces SSL in just one click. 301 redirect via PHP or .htaccess Secure cookies Let’s Encrypt: Install an SSL Certificate if your hosting provider supports manual installation. Server Health Check: Your server configuration is every bit as important for your website security. WordPress Hardening Tweak your configuration and keep WordPress fortified and safe by tackling potential weaknesses. Prevent code execution in the uploads folder Prevent login feedback and disable user enumeration Disable XML-RPC Disable directory browsing Username restrictions (block ‘admin’ and public names) and much more.. Vulnerability Detection Get notified when plugins, themes or WP core contain vulnerabilities and need appropriate action. Login Protection Allow or enforce Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for specific user roles. Users receive a two-factor code via Email. Improve Security with Really Simple Security Pro Protect your site with all essential security features by upgrading to Really Simple Security Pro. Advanced SSL enforcement Mixed Content Scan & Fixer. Detect files that are requested over HTTP and fix them to HTTPS, both Front- and Back-end. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security and configure your site for the HSTS Preload list. Firewall Really Simple Security Pro includes a performant and efficient WordPress firewall, to stop bots, crawlers and bad actors with IP and username blocks. 404 blocking – Blocks crawlers as they trigger unusual numbers of 404 errors. Region blocking – Only allow/block access to your site from specific regions. Automated and customisable Firewall rules. IP blocklist and allowlist. Security Headers Security headers protect your site visitors against the risk of clickjacking, cross-site-forgery attacks, stealing login credentials and malware. Independent of your Server Configuration, works on Apache, LiteSpeed, NGINX, etc. Protect your website visitors with X-XSS Protection, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, a Referrer Policy and CORS headers. Automatically generate your WordPress-tailored Content Security Policy. Vulnerability Measures When a vulnerability is detected in a plugin, theme or WordPress core you will get notified accordingly. With Vulnerability Measures, you can configure simple but effective measures to make sure that a critical vulnerability won’t remain unattended. Force update: An update process will be tried multiple times until it can be assumed development of a theme or plugin is abandoned. You will be notified during these steps. Quarantine: When a plugin or theme can’t be updated to solve a vulnerability, Really Simple Security can quarantine the plugin. Advanced Site Hardening Choose a custom login URL Automated File Permissions check and fixer Rename and randomize your database prefix Change the debug.log file location to a non-public folder Disable application passwords Control admin creation Disable HTTP methods, reducing HTTP requests Login Protection Secure your website’s login process and user accounts with powerful security measures. Two-Step verification (Email login) 2FA (two factor authentication) with TOTP Passwordless login with passkey login Enforce strong passwords and frequent password change Limit Login Attempts With Limit Login Attempts you can configure a threshold to temporarily or permanently block IP addresses or (non-existing) usernames. You can also throw a CAPTCHA after a failed login (hCaptcha or Google reCaptcha) Access Control Restrict access to your site for specific regions. Add specific IP addresses or IP ranges to the Blocklist or Allowlist. Useful Links Documentation Security Definitions Translate Really Simple Security Issues & pull requests Feature requests Love Really Simple Security? If you want to support the continuing development of this plugin, please consider buying Really Simple Security Pro, which includes some excellent security features and premium support. About Really Simple Plugins Our mission is to make complex WordPress requirements really easy. Really Simple Security is developed by Really Simple Plugins. For generating SSL certificates, Really Simple Security uses the le acme2 PHP Let’s Encrypt client library, thanks to ‘fbett’ for providing it. Vulnerability Detection uses WP Vulnerability, an open-source initiative by Javier Casares. Want to join as a collaborator? We’re on GitHub as well!