How to Add a Custom 404 Page in WordPress Using Atahualpa

What is a 404 Page and Why Do I Want a Custom One?

A 404 page is the page that’s displayed when someone tries to access a page on your site that doesn’t exist. Maybe it once did and doesn’t now. Maybe it moved. Maybe it never existed. Whatever the case, the visitor to your site is lost and needs a helping hand.

The default page that shows is pretty boring. It’s not entirely unhelpful, because it still shows your header and sidebar(s), but it’s not as helpful as it could be.

One excellent use for a 404 page is to direct users to little-trafficked content that you still think is very, very good. Maybe you want more love for that post you wrote about your fluffy bunny (so fluffy!). You can add a link to it on your 404 page.

Now, if Atahualpa was as user-friendly as it usually is, there would be a spot in the theme options to edit the 404 page. But. There isn’t.

In fact, Atahualpa doesn’t even have its own 404.php file, which is the heart of the matter.

So, here’s the trick. (You’ll need FTP or shell access.)

Short Version

* Copy the […]

Favicon not showing in Atahualpa

Are you having trouble getting your favicon to show up in WordPress using Atahualpa? Read on for my trials and tribulations! Or just use one of these two solutions:

Solution #1 – Just stick a file called favicon.ico in the root directory of your website, above the wp-content/ folder.

Solution #2 – Put your file called whateveryouwant.ico in wp-content/ata-images/ and then go to Appearance->Atahualpa Theme Options->Add a Favicon and tell it what name you want. (IGNORE what it says in there about where to put the file. It’s lying to you. Check out Atahualpa Theme Options->Image Locations to see why.)

Solution #1.5 and #2.5 – If you’ve done one of the above and it’s still not working, try clearing your cache, or restarting your browser. Be firm with it! Browsers are often quite reluctant to do it, even after you tell them to.

Keep reading for details on how I arrived at my solutions.

This site is currently running under the Atahualpa theme, Atahualpa 3.7.12 . I ran into trouble trying to get my own favicon to work. I had grabbed an .ico favicon from a website and colorized it to purple the way I wanted it. Turns out […]