How to Add Wayback Machine Archive Links to 404 Error Pages

When a visitor lands on a 404 error page, they usually leave. But if the missing page was ever saved by the Internet Archive, you can offer them a way to still read it. Adding Wayback Machine archive links to 404 error pages gives visitors a link to the last archived copy of the page, so old links from other sites, bookmarks and search results still lead somewhere useful. Here’s how to do it with a few lines of code, plus when you shouldn’t.

Quick answer: Add a small script to your theme’s 404.php template that asks the Wayback Machine’s Availability API (https://archive.org/wayback/available?url=) whether the missing URL was archived. If it was, show a link to the closest snapshot; if not, show nothing. The Internet Archive also published a ready-made wb404.js script for this.

What the Wayback Machine does

The Wayback Machine (external site) from the Internet Archive has saved snapshots of hundreds of billions of web pages over the years. It’s the best way to see how a page looked in the past. When you delete or move pages and can’t fix every link pointing to them, a link to the archived copy is far better than a dead end.

This is how it looks on our 404 pages:

Option 1: The Internet Archive’s wb404 script

The Internet Archive released a 404 handler for webmasters (external site): two lines to paste into your 404 template.

<div id="wb404"></div>
<script src="https://archive.org/web/wb404.js"></script>

In WordPress, add it to your theme’s 404.php file (use a child theme so updates don’t remove it). If the page has an archived copy, the script shows a link to it. If not, it shows nothing and stays out of the way. It’s an old script, so check it still works on your site after adding it.

Option 2: Use the Wayback Availability API (recommended)

For more control over the wording and styling, call the Wayback Machine’s free Availability API (external site) yourself:

<p id="wayback-link"></p>
<script>
fetch('https://archive.org/wayback/available?url=' + encodeURIComponent(location.href))
  .then(function (r) { return r.json(); })
  .then(function (d) {
    var s = d.archived_snapshots && d.archived_snapshots.closest;
    if (s && s.available) {
      document.getElementById('wayback-link').innerHTML =
        'This page has moved or been removed, but you can ' +
        '<a href="' + s.url + '" rel="nofollow">read an archived copy on the Wayback Machine</a>.';
    }
  });
</script>

The API returns the closest archived snapshot of the current URL. The script runs only after the page has loaded, so it doesn’t slow down your 404 page, and visitors without an archived copy see nothing extra.

Make your 404 page more helpful

An archive link works best as part of a useful 404 page. Also include:

• A short, friendly message explaining the page wasn’t found.
• A search box, so visitors can look for what they wanted.
• Links to your homepage, popular posts and main categories.

When not to add archive links

The code appears on every 404 page that has an archived copy. That’s not always what you want:

• If you deliberately forced 404 errors to remove thin or penalised content, you probably don’t want to send visitors back to it.
• If a page is gone for good, a 410 Gone status is clearer for search engines.
• If a better page exists, use a 301 redirect instead. It helps visitors and keeps the SEO value of backlinks; see how we recovered link juice from deleted subdomains.

Fix broken links on your own site first, too: here’s how to remove broken internal links in WordPress.

Frequently asked questions

Does linking to the Wayback Machine hurt SEO?

No. It’s a link on a 404 page, which search engines don’t index. Adding rel="nofollow" keeps it neutral.

What if my page was never archived?

The script shows nothing. You can ask the Wayback Machine to save important pages now with its Save Page Now feature at web.archive.org.

Can I add this without editing theme files?

Yes. Some 404 page plugins let you add custom HTML or scripts to the 404 page, or use a code snippets plugin that targets 404 pages.