Can Apache serve a default file instead of a 404?

Question

We have Apache serving a set of files from a particular directory. If a file requested in that directory does not exist, can I make Apache return a default file - instead of a 404? If so, how?

Answer 1

This can be achieved making use of .htaccess.

Check this WebReference article on the topic.

Basically you only need a file name .htaccess in your directory which contains

ErrorDocument 404 /YourCustomErrorPage.html

Of course any other file can be served too.

Answer 2

What kind of file? Is it a static file? With Apache you can set custom error pages.

Answer 3

Be careful returning non-404s for any random URI request. It may impact your Google rankings if they notice it and consider it part of a link farm or other such blackhat SEO technique.