This PHP code is designed to handle custom 404 errors in a WordPress environment. Its main purpose is to improve the user experience by attempting to redirect users to the most relevant page or provide helpful suggestions if a requested URL cannot be found. Here's a detailed breakdown of what the code does: Key Features: **1.** Extract the Last Segment of the URL: - The script retrieves the requested URL and isolates the last part of the path (e.g., for /some/path/example, it extracts example). **2.** Search for Existing Paths: - A function (find_existing_path) is used to check whether the extracted segment matches: -- A published post slug. -- A tag slug in the WordPress taxonomy. - If a match is found, the function returns the URL of the corresponding post or tag. - If no match is found in the primary database search, it checks a predefined list of folders (blog, category, etc.) for potential matches. If a match exists, it constructs and returns the appropriate URL. **3.** Redirect to the Found Path: - If a matching path is found in the search process, the user is redirected to it using a 301 permanent redirect. **4.** Search for Similar Content: - If no exact match is found, the script converts the last segment into a search query by replacing special characters (-, _, and %20) with +. - It performs a WordPress search query to find up to 5 posts that might be relevant. **5.** Display Search Results: - If matching posts are found, it displays them to the user in the following way: -- A heading is shown in the appropriate language (Russian, Italian, or English), depending on the site's locale. -- Instead of plain links, the thumbnails of the suggested posts are displayed using a loop (get_template_part). **6.** Fallback: - If neither a matching path nor search results are found, the standard 404 error page will remain. **Purpose:** This script enhances WordPress’s default 404 error handling by: - Redirecting users to relevant pages if possible. - Providing search-based suggestions when exact matches are unavailable. - Improving user navigation and potentially reducing bounce rates. ` function handle_custom_404() { // Get the requested URL path $request_uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']; $request_path = trim(urldecode($request_uri), '/'); // Extract only the last segment of the path $last_segment = basename($request_path); // Function to search for an existing path in other folders function find_existing_path($path) { global $wpdb; // Perform a combined query to search for slugs in posts and tags without a LIMIT 1 restriction $results = $wpdb->get_results($wpdb->prepare( "(SELECT ID AS item_id, 'post' AS item_type FROM {$wpdb->posts} WHERE post_name = %s AND post_status = 'publish') UNION ALL (SELECT t.term_id AS item_id, 'tag' AS item_type FROM {$wpdb->terms} t INNER JOIN {$wpdb->term_taxonomy} tt ON t.term_id = tt.term_id WHERE t.slug = %s AND tt.taxonomy = 'post_tag')", $path, $path )); // If exactly one record is found, return its URL if (count($results) === 1) { $result = $results[0]; if ($result->item_type === 'post') { return get_permalink($result->item_id); } elseif ($result->item_type === 'tag') { return get_tag_link($result->item_id); } } // If multiple results or none are found, use the old logic $paths_to_check = ['blog', 'category', 'news', 'tag', 'news/news-photo']; foreach ($paths_to_check as $folder) { $potential_path = $folder . '/' . $path; // Check if a page exists at this path or a term exists in the required taxonomy if (url_to_postid(site_url($potential_path)) != 0 || term_exists($path, $folder)) { return site_url($potential_path); } } return false; } // Check if a similar path exists in other folders $existing_path = find_existing_path($last_segment); if ($existing_path) { // If a similar path is found, perform a redirect wp_redirect($existing_path, 301); exit; } // Search by keywords, replacing "-" and "_" with pluses $search_query = str_replace(['-', '_', '%20'], '+', $last_segment); // Perform a search by keywords $search = new WP_Query([ 's' => $search_query, 'posts_per_page' => 5 ]); // Output results if found if ($search->have_posts()) { echo '
'; $locale = get_locale(); if ($locale === 'ru_RU') { echo '

Возможно Вы искали это:

'; } elseif ($locale === 'it_IT') { echo '

Forse stavi cercando questo:

'; } else { echo '

Perhaps you were looking for this:

'; } echo '
'; echo '

'; // Instead of displaying links, output post thumbnails while ($search->have_posts()) : $search->the_post(); echo '

'; get_template_part('content', get_post_format()); echo '

'; endwhile; // Output pagination // the_posts_pagination(); echo '

'; wp_reset_postdata(); } } ` This code [on GitHub](https://gist.github.com/andrewinsidelazarev/a154843e447333fd2247585d74c9cea3) [Contact with me](https://andrew-lazarev.com/en/contacts-en/)

andrewinsidelazarev

Advanced 404-page snippet for WordPress

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