Missing Children and 404 Error Pages

PZH

What an excellent idea :T

Missing children messages go on 404 error pages

(Well I thought so)

Mista_C

I saw this on the BBC website earlier and also thought it seemed like a great idea... then my webmaster logic kicked in. The problem I see with this is the 404 page is essentially an error message. In both website building and programming one of your major goals is to not have errors occurring, i.e. bug fixing.

You don't want people to see the 404 page, it's only there on the chance that a visitor takes a wrong turn, maybe via an outdated link or similar. Many webpages implement automatic redirection to a site map or the front page of the site when a visitor hits a 404 page.
I think it would be better if sites displayed this kind of thing amongst their main content, maybe instead of the carppy adverts a lot of sites currently have.

I am considering getting in touch with them for my own 404 pages though, at the moment they contain a site map and a bunch of novelty easter eggs, there's plenty of room for a good cause such as this one.