How do I make a custom 404 - Error! - Page not found page?

[siggen]

Hi

Im a neewbie at vBulletin, and have noticed that the 404 - Error page at my hostserver redirects to their advertised Error Page, and not a standard one.

I therefore want to create my very own vBulletin like custom 404 - Error page, which includes the header, footer, and the user permissions system as well.

When visitors encounter the 404 - Error page, they generally close the browser - and that's one visitor gone for good. Because of that, I want to make my error page so I not only can can retain the visitor, but also make them look at other pages on my web site.

I want to include the following on my 404 - Error page;

1. - Include the header, footer, and the user permissions system from my vBulletin forum.
2. - A polite message explaining the problem. For a 404 error page, this message can be "Sorry, but the page you have requested for does not exist on this web site. It might have been removed, moved or the URL might be wrong".
3. - I also want to include a search feature on my 404 error page, one for my forumsite as wel as one for, lets say Google. This way, my visitors can type in their query and go to the correct page, or maybe visit some other forumpage of mine.
4. - A link back to my forum frontpage

Can anyone help me, and other neewbies out with this?

Remember, it must function on websites like HostGator etc...

I find it very imortant to have my custom error pages in the same design as the other pages of my forum. If the error pages have a different design than other pages of the web site, visitors might feel lost and close the browser window or move to another site.

[chrisdaman77]

Check in you server control panel as there is usually an option to make your own custom Error pages. I believe you can edit them right from there.