Multiple custom 404 pages

Question

Do you have a suggestion on how I can get a random 404 page displayed when a page isn't found.

I use Wordpress and am currently using a custom 404.php file for displaying a 404 page but what I want is to have three or four different pages that are displayed randomly when a visitor 404s.

Answer 1

You can create a dynamic output using PHP inside the 404.php template.

Effectively you use the 404.php to include your header, footer and any navigation as per a normal template, and then swap out the normal loop and create a block of content that is randomised - e.g.:

<? 
$num = Rand (1,4);
switch ($num) { // Here's 4 different examples
 case 1:
 echo "<div>content goes here</div>"; //normal HTML
 break;
 case 2:
 echo $string_output_youve_set_earlier; //HTML in a string
 break;
 case 3:
 include 'random_block_3.php'; //a PHP block
 break;
 case 4:
 get_template_part('random','four'); //Using WordPress's own engine
}
?>