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Understanding and Resolving 404 Errors on Your WSM Store

A "404 – Page Not Found" error means a browser tried to open a page that isn't available at the requested address. On your store, these errors usually fall into a few common situations. This article explains the most frequent operational causes, what you can do, and what information to send our Support Team so we can help you quickly.

Note: This article covers day-to-day 404 situations (products, catalog links, checkout, and file links). If you're working on SEO clean-up and redirecting old URLs through Google Search Console, please see our separate article on 404 errors and 301 redirects.

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1. A New or Recently Edited Product Shows a 404

What's happening:
You just added or edited a product, it appears correctly in your admin, but visiting its live page returns a 404.

Likely cause:
This is usually a short reindexing delay. After a product is created or changed, its page needs to be reindexed before it becomes available at its public URL. In most cases the page appears on its own once indexing completes.

What to do:

    • Wait a little while and check the page again.
    • If the page is still returning a 404 after a reasonable amount of time, contact Support.
What to send Support:
    • The product ID
    • The full URL of the product page returning the 404
    • A screenshot of the error

2. A Deleted Product Still Appears in the Catalog but Returns a 404

What's happening:

You deleted a product on the back end, but it still shows up in a category or catalog listing. When a customer clicks it, they get a 404.

Likely cause:
The product has been removed, but the catalog/category listing hasn't been reindexed to drop the deleted item yet. Until indexing catches up, the old link can still appear and lead to a missing page.

What to do:

    • Confirm the product is actually deleted (or unpublished) in your admin.
    • If deleted items keep appearing in your listings, contact Support so we can trigger a reindex of the affected catalog.
What to send Support:
    • The URL of the category/catalog page where the deleted items still appear
    • The product ID(s) of the deleted items, if you have them
    • A screenshot of the listing and/or the 404 error

3. A 404 During Checkout or When Clicking "Add to Cart" — Urgent

What's happening:
Customers get a 404 when they click Add to Cart or when they try to check out, which prevents them from completing their order. This may affect some customers and payment methods but not others, and can be intermittent.

Why this is urgent:
This directly blocks sales. Some customers may simply abandon their cart without reporting the problem, so it's important to let us know as soon as you notice it.

What to do:

    • Contact Support right away and flag it as a checkout issue.
    • If possible, capture the error while it's happening (or ask an affected customer to do so).
What to send Support:
    • The exact step where the 404 appears (Add to Cart, entering checkout, selecting a payment method, etc.)
    • The product(s) in the affected cart, including product ID(s) if known
    • A screenshot that clearly shows the URL in the browser's address bar at the moment of the error
    • Any pattern you've noticed (for example, only certain payment options, or only some customers)
Tip: A screenshot that includes the full URL is especially helpful here, because these issues can be specific to a particular cart, product, or integration.

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4. Broken Links to Instruction/Spec PDFs or the Terms & Conditions Link

What's happening:
Clicking a link to an instruction or specification PDF — or the "I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions" link on the checkout page — returns a 404 instead of opening the document or page.

Likely cause:
The link is pointing to a file or page that has been moved, renamed, removed, or is no longer available at that address.

What to do:

    • Confirm the file or page still exists in your admin.
    • If the link is broken and you're not sure why, contact Support.
What to send Support:
    • The page where the broken link appears (for example, your instructions page or the checkout page)
    • The URL the link points to (the address that returns the 404)
    • A screenshot of the error
What to Include Any Time You Report a 404

To help us resolve your issue as quickly as possible, please always provide:

    • The full URL of the page returning the 404
    • The product ID (when the issue involves a specific product)
    • A screenshot showing the error and the URL in the address bar
    • Steps to reproduce — what you clicked to reach the error
The more of this we have up front, the faster we can identify and fix the problem.