How to Fix Knowledge Base Articles or Categories Returning a 404 Error

A 404 error means WordPress cannot find the requested knowledge base article or category URL.

This can happen after changing permalink settings, editing article or category URL bases, removing the category base, moving categories or creating a page with a conflicting slug.

In most cases, the content still exists and WordPress simply needs its permalink rules refreshed.

Confirm the article or category still exists

Before changing any settings, check that the content has not been deleted.

For an article:

1. Open Knowledge Base > All Articles.
2. Find the affected article.
3. Check that its status is Published.
4. Select View.

For a category:

1. Open Knowledge Base > Categories.
2. Find the affected category.
3. Select View.

If the content opens correctly from the WordPress dashboard, the problem may be an old link or cached URL.

Resave WordPress permalinks

The first step for most WordPress 404 errors is to refresh the permalink rules.

To do this:

1. Sign in to WordPress.
2. Open Settings > Permalinks.
3. Do not change the selected permalink structure.
4. Select Save Changes.
5. Clear the website cache.
6. Test the knowledge base URL again.

Simply saving the Permalinks page tells WordPress to rebuild its URL rules.

This often fixes 404 errors after:

• Installing the plugin
• Updating SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base
• Changing an article URL base
• Changing a category URL base
• Removing the category base
• Moving the website
• Restoring a backup

Check the SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base licence

Public knowledge base pages require an active SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base Monthly or Yearly licence.

Open:

Knowledge Base > Licence

Confirm that the licence is active.

An inactive licence normally causes an unavailable message rather than a standard WordPress 404, but it should still be checked during troubleshooting.

Check the article status

Only published articles are normally available publicly.

Open the affected article and check whether it is:

• Published
• Draft
• Pending Review
• Private
• Scheduled
• In the Trash

A draft or private article may return a 404 error to visitors who are not signed in.

Publish the article if it is ready to be publicly available.

Test while signed out

Administrators can sometimes preview content that normal visitors cannot access.

Open the article or category in a private browser window.

This helps you confirm whether the page is genuinely public.

It also prevents the WordPress admin toolbar and logged-in permissions from affecting the test.

Check the article URL base

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base articles use a public URL base.

For example:

example.com/knowledge-base-article/how-to-install-the-plugin/

or a custom version such as:

example.com/docs/how-to-install-the-plugin/

Open:

Knowledge Base > Settings > Advanced

Check the saved article URL base.

Make sure it:

• Contains only a suitable slug
• Does not include the full website address
• Does not begin or end with unnecessary slashes
• Does not contain spaces
• Does not conflict with an existing WordPress page

After changing the base, resave WordPress permalinks.

Valid article URL base examples

Suitable examples include:

docs

help-article

knowledge-base-article

support-guide

Avoid entering:

https://example.com/docs

or:

/docs/

unless the setting specifically asks for that format.

Use only the slug required by the field.

Check the category URL base

Knowledge base categories also use a URL base unless it has been removed.

A default category URL may look like:

example.com/kb-category/getting-started/

Open:

Knowledge Base > Settings > Advanced

Check the category URL base.

Make sure the saved base does not conflict with:

• The main knowledge base page
• A normal WordPress page
• A blog category
• A product archive
• Another custom post type
• The article URL base

After making changes, save the settings and resave WordPress permalinks.

Article and category bases should be different

Do not give articles and categories the same URL base.

For example, avoid using:

Article base:

docs

Category base:

docs

This could create confusing or conflicting URLs.

A clearer setup might be:

Article base:

docs

Category base:

kb-category

The exact wording is less important than keeping the routes unique.

Check for conflicting WordPress pages

A normal WordPress page may use the same slug as the article or category base.

For example:

Knowledge base article base:

docs

WordPress page:

example.com/docs/

This can cause WordPress to send requests to the wrong place.

Open:

Pages > All Pages

Check the slugs of existing pages.

Rename either the WordPress page or the knowledge base base if they conflict.

Check for a page matching the category slug

This is especially important when the category URL base has been removed.

For example:

Knowledge base category:

Troubleshooting

Direct category URL:

example.com/troubleshooting/

Existing WordPress page:

example.com/troubleshooting/

Both cannot reliably use the same address.

Change one of the slugs or restore the category base.

Check for article slug conflicts

A knowledge base article may share a slug with another public content item.

For example:

Knowledge base article:

example.com/docs/installation/

Another custom content type may also use:

example.com/docs/installation/

WordPress may open the wrong item or return a 404 error.

Change the affected article slug to something more specific.

For example:

install-softwareroad-knowledge-base

Change an article slug

To change an article slug:

1. Open Knowledge Base > All Articles.
2. Edit the article.
3. Find the Permalink or Slug setting.
4. Enter a unique slug.
5. Update the article.
6. Test the new URL.
7. Add a redirect from the old URL if it was already public.

Use lowercase words separated by hyphens.

Change a category slug

To change a category slug:

1. Open Knowledge Base > Categories.
2. Edit the category.
3. Change the Slug field.
4. Select Update.
5. Resave WordPress permalinks.
6. Test the new category URL.
7. Redirect the old URL if required.

Changing a parent category slug can also change the URLs of its child categories.

Check category-base removal

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base can remove the normal category URL base.

For example:

With the base:

example.com/kb-category/getting-started/

Without the base:

example.com/getting-started/

Direct category URLs are shorter but more likely to conflict with existing WordPress content.

If category pages started returning 404 errors after enabling this feature:

1. Check every category slug for conflicts.
2. Resave WordPress permalinks.
3. Clear all caches.
4. Test parent and child categories.
5. Temporarily restore the category base if needed.

Temporarily restore the category base

To confirm whether base removal is causing the problem:

1. Open Knowledge Base > Settings > Advanced.
2. Disable the category-base removal option.
3. Save the settings.
4. Open Settings > Permalinks.
5. Select Save Changes.
6. Test the category using its normal base.

If the category works again, there is likely a direct URL conflict.

Check parent and child category paths

A child category may use a URL such as:

example.com/kb-category/getting-started/installation/

or, with the category base removed:

example.com/getting-started/installation/

If the child category returns a 404 error, check:

• The parent category still exists
• The correct parent is selected
• The parent slug has not changed
• The child slug is valid
• The full path does not conflict with a page
• WordPress permalinks have been refreshed

Open the parent category first and select the child from the public page.

Moving a category changes its URL

Moving a child category to a different parent can change its path.

For example:

Old URL:

example.com/getting-started/installation/

New URL:

example.com/troubleshooting/installation/

The old URL may return a 404 error unless a redirect has been added.

This does not mean the category was deleted.

Check the URL being opened

The broken URL may simply be outdated.

Compare it with the current link shown by WordPress.

For an article:

1. Edit the article.
2. Check the current permalink.
3. Select View Article.

For a category:

1. Open Knowledge Base > Categories.
2. Select View under the category.

If the current URL works, update or redirect the old link.

Look for spelling differences

A small URL difference can lead to a 404 error.

For example:

Correct:

/licence-activation/

Incorrect:

/license-activation/

Other common differences include:

• Singular vs plural
• Missing hyphens
• Old category names
• Changed product names
• Trailing words
• Typing errors

Copy the current public URL directly from WordPress.

Clear WordPress page caching

A cache may continue serving an old 404 response even after the URL has been fixed.

Clear:

• WordPress page cache
• Object cache
• Hosting cache
• Server cache
• CDN cache
• Browser cache

Then open the page in a private browser window.

Some caching systems store 404 responses, so clearing only the normal page cache may not be enough.

Clear server-level caching

Many hosting providers use server caching outside WordPress.

This may be controlled through:

• Hosting dashboard
• Varnish
• Nginx cache
• LiteSpeed cache
• Redis object cache
• Managed WordPress cache

Use the host’s purge or clear-cache option.

If you cannot find it, ask the hosting provider to clear cached 404 responses.

Clear CDN caching

If the website uses a content delivery network, it may still serve the old 404 page.

Purge the affected knowledge base URLs or clear the relevant cache.

Test the origin website where possible to see whether the problem is caused by WordPress or the CDN.

Check redirect rules

An incorrect redirect can send a valid knowledge base URL to a missing location.

Check redirects added through:

• Hosting control panel
• Server configuration
• WordPress redirect tools
• Cloudflare rules
• Theme code
• Custom plugin code

Look for rules affecting:

• Article URL base
• Category URL base
• Knowledge base homepage
• Old documentation URLs
• Trailing slashes

Temporarily disable the suspected rule and test again.

Check for redirect chains

A redirect chain sends the visitor through several URLs before reaching the final page.

For example:

/old-docs/article/

redirects to:

/docs/article/

which redirects to:

/help/article/

which returns a 404.

Update the first redirect so it points directly to the current working URL.

Check for redirect loops

A redirect loop occurs when two URLs keep sending visitors back to each other.

For example:

/kb-category/help/

redirects to:

/help/

and:

/help/

redirects back to:

/kb-category/help/

Remove or correct the conflicting rule.

Add redirects after changing URL bases

Changing an article or category URL base changes existing public addresses.

For example:

Old article URL:

example.com/knowledge-base-article/install-plugin/

New article URL:

example.com/docs/install-plugin/

The old URL should redirect to the new one.

Without a redirect, visitors using old links will see a 404 error.

Redirect old article URLs individually

For important published articles, create direct redirects.

For example:

Old:

/knowledge-base-article/how-to-activate/

New:

/docs/how-to-activate/

A direct redirect takes the visitor to the exact replacement article.

This is more helpful than sending every old article to the knowledge base homepage.

Redirect old category URLs

The same applies to category URLs.

For example:

Old:

/kb-category/troubleshooting/

New:

/troubleshooting/

Add a permanent redirect from the old category path to the new one.

Remember to include child categories where their full paths have also changed.

Update internal links

Redirects are useful, but links inside the website should still be updated.

Check:

• Knowledge base articles
• Normal WordPress pages
• Blog posts
• Navigation menus
• Footer links
• Buttons
• Support pages
• Customer account pages
• Email templates

Replace old URLs with the current ones.

Check Automatic Article Links

If Automatic Article Links point to an article whose URL has changed, clear the website cache and test the generated links.

The plugin should normally use the current article URL, but cached article content may still contain an old address.

Check breadcrumbs

Open a working knowledge base article and select each breadcrumb link.

Check that:

• The main knowledge base page opens
• Parent categories open
• Child categories open
• No breadcrumb returns a 404

If a category breadcrumb is broken, check its slug and parent path.

Check Back to Knowledge Base links

The back link should open the selected main knowledge base page.

Open:

Knowledge Base > Settings > General

Confirm that the correct Knowledge Base Page is selected.

If the selected page was deleted or its slug changed, update the setting.

Check the main knowledge base page

Make sure the page containing:

[srkb_knowledge_base]

still exists and is published.

If the page was moved to Trash or changed to Draft, links back to the knowledge base homepage may fail.

This normally affects the main page rather than individual article URLs, but it can make the navigation appear broken.

Check WordPress site addresses

Open:

Settings > General

Check:

• WordPress Address
• Site Address

Both should use the correct live domain and protocol.

For example:

https://example.com

Problems can occur after changing between:

• HTTP and HTTPS
• www and non-www
• Temporary and live domains
• Staging and production domains

Incorrect site addresses can produce broken or redirected knowledge base URLs.

Check after moving the website

A website migration can leave old rewrite rules or cached URLs behind.

After moving WordPress:

1. Confirm the WordPress and Site addresses.
2. Resave permalinks.
3. Clear all caches.
4. Check the SoftwareRoad licence.
5. Test the main knowledge base page.
6. Test an article.
7. Test a top-level category.
8. Test a child category.
9. Review redirects from the old domain.

Check the server rewrite configuration

WordPress friendly URLs depend on the server rewrite configuration.

On Apache servers, this commonly involves the .htaccess file.

On Nginx servers, rewrite rules are configured at server level.

If all WordPress pages using friendly URLs return 404 errors, the problem may affect WordPress generally rather than SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base.

Contact the hosting provider and ask them to check the WordPress permalink configuration.

Check whether normal WordPress posts also return 404

Open a normal blog post or page.

If those also return 404 errors, the issue is likely related to:

• WordPress permalinks
• Server rewrite rules
• Migration configuration
• .htaccess
• Nginx settings
• Caching

Fix the wider WordPress permalink problem first.

Check plugin conflicts

Another plugin may change rewrite rules or intercept URLs.

Plugins that can affect routes include:

• Redirect plugins
• Membership plugins
• Multilingual plugins
• Security plugins
• SEO plugins
• Custom post type plugins
• Permalink managers
• Caching plugins

Test conflicts on a staging website.

Keep SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base active and temporarily disable other relevant plugins one at a time.

Check theme conflicts

A WordPress theme should not normally cause a true 404 route error, but custom theme code can change queries or redirects.

On a staging website, temporarily switch to a standard WordPress theme.

If the knowledge base URL begins working, review the original theme’s:

• Redirect code
• Query filters
• Template redirects
• Custom rewrite rules
• Content restrictions

A single article returns 404

If only one article is affected, check:

• Article status
• Article slug
• Duplicate slug
• Old bookmarked URL
• Parent article setting
• Trash
• Redirect rules
• Cache

Try changing the article slug slightly, updating the article and testing again.

For example:

Old slug:

installation

New slug:

plugin-installation-guide

Add a redirect from the old URL if it was already public.

All articles return 404

If every knowledge base article is affected:

1. Resave WordPress permalinks.
2. Check the article URL base.
3. Check for a conflicting page slug.
4. Clear all caches.
5. Confirm the plugin is active.
6. Confirm the licence is active.
7. Check server rewrite rules.
8. Test for a permalink or redirect plugin conflict.

This usually points to a shared rewrite or base setting.

A single category returns 404

If only one category is affected, check:

• Category slug
• Parent category
• Conflicting page
• Old category path
• Category-base removal
• Redirect rules
• Cache

Rename the slug if it conflicts with another public URL.

All categories return 404

If every category page is affected:

1. Resave WordPress permalinks.
2. Check the category URL base.
3. Temporarily disable category-base removal.
4. Clear all caches.
5. Check for permalink plugin conflicts.
6. Check server rewrite rules.

If articles still work, the issue is probably limited to the taxonomy route.

Top-level categories work but child categories do not

Check:

• Parent assignments
• Parent category slugs
• Child category slugs
• Direct category URL conflicts
• Cached category paths
• Redirect rules

Resave each affected child category, then refresh WordPress permalinks.

The WordPress editor link works but the public link does not

An editor preview may use a temporary preview URL.

The normal public permalink can still be broken.

Check that the article is published and select the public View Article option after updating it.

Test the final permalink while signed out.

The URL works while signed in but returns 404 when signed out

This usually means the content is not fully public.

Check whether the article or page is:

• Draft
• Private
• Pending
• Password protected
• Restricted by a membership plugin

Also clear the logged-out page cache.

The old URL still appears in Google

Search engines may continue showing an old knowledge base URL after it has changed.

Add a permanent redirect to the current page.

Do not recreate an outdated page solely because it still appears in search results.

Search engines will normally update the indexed address after they process the redirect.

The old URL appears in the XML sitemap

Clear any SEO or sitemap cache.

Confirm that the article or category canonical URL is correct.

The sitemap should eventually contain the current knowledge base URL rather than the old base or slug.

Canonical URL points to the wrong address

Check the page source or your SEO settings.

The canonical URL should match the current working article or category address.

Clear:

• SEO plugin cache
• WordPress cache
• Server cache
• CDN cache

If a separate SEO plugin overrides the URL incorrectly, review its custom post type and taxonomy settings.

Do not repeatedly change URL bases

Changing the article or category base several times can create many broken links.

Choose a clear URL structure during setup and keep it stable.

Only change an established structure when there is a good reason and you can add the required redirects.

Suggested URL structure

A simple structure could use:

Main knowledge base page:

example.com/knowledge-base/

Article URLs:

example.com/docs/article-name/

Category URLs:

example.com/kb-category/category-name/

Another valid structure can work equally well.

The important points are:

• Unique bases
• Clear slugs
• No conflicts
• Working redirects
• Stable URLs

Contacting your hosting provider

Contact the host when:

• Resaving permalinks does not work
• All friendly URLs return 404
• Server rewrite rules are missing
• .htaccess cannot be updated
• Nginx rules are incorrect
• Cached 404 responses cannot be cleared
• The problem began after a server migration

Tell them the issue affects a WordPress custom post type or taxonomy route.

Information to send SoftwareRoad support

Contact SoftwareRoad support if the problem only affects the knowledge base and continues after completing the normal checks.

Include:

• Website address
• One broken article URL
• One broken category URL
• Main knowledge base page URL
• Current article URL base
• Current category URL base
• Whether category-base removal is enabled
• SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base version
• WordPress version
• PHP version
• Whether permalinks were resaved
• Whether the issue affects all or only some pages
• Any relevant server or redirect errors

Do not publicly share your full product key.

404 troubleshooting checklist

Before contacting support, check that:

• The article or category still exists
• Articles are published
• The SoftwareRoad licence is active
• WordPress permalinks have been resaved
• Article and category URL bases are different
• URL bases do not match existing WordPress pages
• Category slugs do not conflict with page slugs
• Parent and child category paths are correct
• Category-base removal has been tested
• Old links have been compared with current URLs
• WordPress, server and CDN caches have been cleared
• Redirect rules have been checked
• Old URLs redirect to the correct new locations
• Internal links and menus have been updated
• WordPress site addresses are correct
• Server rewrite rules are working
• Plugin conflicts have been tested on staging
• The affected pages have been tested while signed out

Knowledge base articles and categories should open normally once WordPress permalink rules are refreshed and any URL conflicts or outdated links have been corrected.