how can I block people from seeing sidebar on 404 page

[Lesley]

Hello,
I've just published an informational page about my private membership blog that I hope to launch in a week or so. I've discovered that my site is showing up in Google searches and some people have visited the google link, gotten the 404 page message, but they can see all that is in my sidebar and the header and such.

My theme doesn't allow me to change the template for that page, and I don't know how to change code to do it (I've made all my tweaks by adding CSS in the custom includes box). I really don't want anyone to be able to see the sidebar as it shows so much of what is on the site. And I've got alot of work in the week ahead and don't want to be worrying about this. I've got all the restriction settings to all pages and posts.

Can you please help?

[Cristián Lávaque]

Lesley, have you checked the alternative views protection? WP Admin -> s2Member -> Restriction Options -> Alternative View

And what URL is giving you the 404? Have you chosen a Membership Options page? WP Admin -> s2Member -> General Options -> Membership Options Page

I hope that helps.

[Lesley]

Hello Cristian,
The URL is a Google search result. I Googled *removed* and this came up on the second page:

*removed*

...and when clicked, it takes you to a page of mine with the sidebar and the message "Not Found

Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here"

tho' it just says "*removed*.com" in the browser bar...no page URL. I looked at the Alternative Views page and it is already checked.

Any more ideas?

[Eduan]

Are the things in this post configured correctly?:
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1066

[Lesley]

Yes, under Settings, the URL is without the www. as is the URL in the Google search results that take you to that page and as all my settings have it.

I just tried typing in http://*removed* and it switched to the URL without the www.

I guess I don't know why the 404 page is so high in the Google search results since it shouldn't come up, right? The MOP should come up?

[Raam Dev]

Are you using a Static Page for the Front Page (WP Admin -> Settings -> Reading -> Front page displays)? If so, is that set to the same page as your Membership Options Page? (It probably should be... I assume the front page isn't supposed to be displaying a 404 page, right?)

If you're not using a Static Page, or if it's already set to the same page as your Membership Options page, then that tells me you have a problem with the PHP code in your theme's index.php file which is then generating a call to the 404 page.

The problem with the 404 page displaying the sidebar can be resolved by Creating an Error 404 Page and making sure that it doesn't include a call to the sidebar.

[Lesley]

Thanks so much for trying to help. But I think I am just going to leave this for now. No one has visited via that Google search for a few days, so it is probably not worth spending time on. I have been ill with the flu for the past four days and am so behind with adding content to my new site...I think I shall focus on that when I am well enough to.

Thanks again!

[Raam Dev]

I hope you get well soon! Let us know if you have any other questions.

[Lesley]

Hello again,
All better and hoping to open my site to membership in a few days....still would like to get this sorted out. I noticed today (and a friend who is member already and helps me test also experiences this) that when we logout, we are redirected to this same page:

Error 404 - Not Found
Sorry, the page that you are looking for does not exist.

I suppose there is something configured wrong somewhere?

In answer to your previous questions, my front page is not a Static page, but a page of posts, to work with the magazine template and excerpts.

And do you mean that somewhere in the s2member settings I should have my front page set as my MOP?

[Raam Dev]

Can you tell us what URL appears in the address bar when you get the 404?

Also, I just tried visiting www.wisteriansunshine.com and I'm not able to access the site (it just doesn't load... as if the server is down).

[Lesley]

Hello there,
The URL is just http:/*removed*

And I am sorry that I seem to have added an unnecessary "n" when I first typed in my URL...that is fixed now.

[Raam Dev]

Could you try activating the default TwentyTen theme? If it works with TwentyTen, then you have a problem with your theme configuration.

[Lesley]

Same result....just a slightly different message:

Not Found
Apologies, but no results were found for the requested archive. Perhaps searching will help find a related post.

[Raam Dev]

Do you have any blog posts published yet?

[Lesley]

Yes, I have alot of posts and pages published, but haven't "opened for business yet".

[Raam Dev]

If you disable s2Member, do you still have this problem? (Be sure that Deactivation Safeguards are turned on in WP Admin -> s2Member -> General Options so that you don't lose any of your settings when disabling s2Member.)

[Lesley]

That was a bit scary...someone could have seen the site in the fifteen seconds s2member was deactivated! : )

Ok....so when I deactivated the front page loaded up instead of the error page.

[Raam Dev]

Could you please tell me what settings are configured in all the panels in WP Admin -> s2Member -> Restriction Options (including Alternative View Protection)?

[Lesley]

posts, pages, tags, categories are "all" restricted, well, the first two levels anyway, since I don't have levels of membership

nothing in the URI boxes

the "protect alternate views" are all clicked

nothing in the specific page/post restrictions and the last two just have the default entries

[Raam Dev]

Hmm, if all the posts and pages are restricted, what are you expecting to show up on the front page?

[Lesley]

Now you are confusing me! : )

It means restricted until you are a member, right? Atleast no one who has joined (as a test) has had trouble seeing anything they want.

[Raam Dev]

Right, but if everything is restricted, then where do people go to sign up? Have you chosen a Membership Options page? WP Admin -> s2Member -> General Options -> Membership Options Page

[Lesley]

Yes...and my understanding is that is never restricted? There are Paypal buttons on there...but here we are back to where we started, because tho' the MOP should come up when someone tries to visit my website but isn't a member, the "not found" page comes up instead.

[Raam Dev]

What happens if you set the front page to be a static page and choose your Membership Options Page as the Front Page in WP Admin -> Settings -> Reading Settings?

[Lesley]

I don't know as I have to have it as "page of posts" to get the magazine template and excerpts to work..and now my site is live so I don't want to confuse all the new members there. It's a puzzle.