Custom error pages

Custom error pages

Joomla! uses the templates/system/error.php file to handle several HTTP Status errors, including "403 Forbidden", "404 Not Found", and "500 Internal Server" Errors. You can style the error results, if desired.

It is important to understand that the error.php is an independent file from Joomla!. Plugins do not run on the file. You cannot include modules or use <jdoc:include> statements.

Overriding the System Error Results

To override the system error results, copy the templates/system/error.php file into your templates/<template-name> directory.

If it finds one, Joomla! will use the error.php file from the current template, in place of the system file.

You can format the page, as desired, to match your template.

Overriding the System Styling

If you want to change the styling, copy the templates/system/css/error.css file into your templates/<template-name>/css directory.

Next, update the your templates/<template-name>/error.php file to reference the new location of the stylesheet by changing this line, accordingly:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php echo $this->baseurl; ?>/templates/system/css/error.css" type="text/css" />

Then, simply change the error.css, as desired, for your styling requirements.

Customizing Error Messages

You can add conditional logic to vary the message returned, dependent upon the specific error code.

Here is an example of how to trap a 404 error and provide a custom message.

<?php if ($this->error->code = '404') { ?>
	<div id="errorboxheader">Page not found</div>
		<div id="errorboxbody"><p>Sorry! That page cannot be found.</p>
		</div>
	</div>
<?php } ?>

HTTP status code

When a request is made for a page on your site, the server returns an HTTP status code in response to the request. Joomla! returns a '200 - the server successfully returned the page' for error pages. This is problematic for those working with Google Webmaster Services and trying to get a sitemap resolved.

If you want Joomla! to return a status code for the error, you can do so by adding logic before the DOCTYPE line, as follows:

<?php 
if ($this->error->code = '404') {
	header("HTTP/1.0 404 Not Found");
} ?>

More HTTP status code information:

• Joomla! Documentation: Create a Custom 404 Error Page
• HTTP/1.1 Status Code Definitions
• Google Webmaster - Analyzing Crawl Errors