---
type: Glossary Term
title: "Soft 404"
description: "A page that returns HTTP 200 but appears empty or 404-like to crawlers."
resource: "https://prerendering.com/glossary/soft-404"
tags: [indexation, glossary]
timestamp: 2026-05-11T00:00:00Z
---

# Soft 404

A page that returns HTTP 200 but appears empty or 404-like to crawlers.

Soft 404s happen when a page returns HTTP 200 with content that signals "not found" — empty product pages, default empty-state copy, or templates that lost their data. Crawlers infer a 404 despite the 200 status. They consume crawl budget and can drag template quality scores down across an entire route family.

## Related

- [Soft 404s and Thin Pages at Scale](/blog/soft-404s-and-thin-pages-at-scale.md)