404 vs. 410 vs. 301: what should a removed page return?

Filed:August 27, 2026 · By:Steve Bullis

When a page disappears, the useful question is not “How do we avoid a 404?” It is “What happened to this URL?”

Three answers cover most cases.

Use 301 when there is a real replacement

A permanent redirect is right when the old resource moved and the new destination satisfies the same intent.

An article changed its slug. A product line moved to a new canonical product page. Two overlapping guides were consolidated into one stronger guide. In each case, a person who requested the old URL will recognize the destination as the thing they wanted.

Keep the mapping specific. Redirecting every deleted product, abandoned campaign, and mistyped address to the home page is not a migration plan. Google warns that irrelevant bulk redirects can confuse visitors and may be treated as soft 404s.

Use 404 when the resource is not there

404 Not Found means the server cannot find the requested resource. It does not claim the absence is permanent.

That makes 404 the normal answer for:

• mistyped URLs;
• broken inbound links you have not diagnosed yet;
• deleted pages with no meaningful replacement;
• unknown routes generated by bots or curious humans;
• content that may return, but is unavailable now.

A 404 is not a moral failure. It is a useful, precise response. The failure is leaving a good internal link pointed at one after you know it is broken.

Use 410 when “gone” is deliberate

410 Gone communicates that the resource was intentionally removed and is expected to stay removed. It is appropriate when certainty itself is useful: an expired listing that will not return, a revoked document, or a deliberately retired endpoint.

MDN’s 404 reference distinguishes the two this way: 404 does not say whether the absence is temporary or permanent, while 410 does.

Do not turn the distinction into theater. If your publishing system naturally returns 404 for deleted content, that is usually an honest response. Reserve 410 for cases where your team actually knows and maintains the permanent-removal decision.

What about 302?

A temporary redirect is for a temporary move. It can make sense during maintenance, an experiment, or a short-lived campaign handoff. It should not become the dusty permanent plumbing behind a URL that moved years ago.

A practical decision tree

Ask these questions in order:

1. Is there a new URL that fulfills essentially the same visitor intent? Use a permanent redirect.
2. Is the removal explicitly permanent and worth communicating? Consider 410.
3. Otherwise, return 404.

Then build a useful error page around the response. Status codes speak to software; the page must still speak to the stranded person.