The “404 Not Found” message is a standard response from a web server when you visit a page that no longer exists, or typed in the URL incorrectly. Chances are, you’ve seen this error message hundreds of time, but just clicked away and never thought twice about it.
Think about how many times in a day people mistype a single letter in a URL and are taken to an error page. There are no calculations to how often 404 Not Found pages are reached in a day, but with how often we run into them, our guess is in the millions.
An organization in Europe found a use for these empty webpages. The NotFound project has turned these lost pages into a home for missing children across Europe. Website owners must install the application, and the picture and information of a missing child is automatically published on every ‘404 Page Not Found’ within the site.
We are hoping this movement makes its way across the globe and potentially saves the lives of missing children everywhere. Is there be a better fitting and more cause worthy use of these empty pages? We don’t think so. Would you download the application for your website if it was made available in the United States?
– Anna Gonzalez, Copywriter
