**The Problem**
In Django, when you return a custom 404 view, Django expects the HTTP response to have a 404 status code to signify "Not Found." However, if you don't explicitly set `status=404` in the response, Django will treat it as a `200 OK` response, even though you intended it as a "page not found" view.
It Misleading HTTP Response: Without status=404, the page will return 200 OK, which signals that the request was successful, misleading both users and search engines.
**If you are using custom 404 template**
from django.shortcuts import render def custom_404_view(request, exception): return render(request, '404.html', status=404) # Set status=404 here
**Solution without Template**
from django.http import HttpResponseNotFound def custom_404_view(request, exception): return HttpResponseNotFound("Custom 404 page not found")

**The Problem**
In Django, when you return a custom 404 view, Django expects the HTTP response to have a 404 status code to signify "Not Found." However, if you don't explicitly set `status=404` in the response, Django will treat it as a `200 OK` response, even though you intended it as a "page not found" view.
It Misleading HTTP Response: Without status=404, the page will return 200 OK, which signals that the request was successful, misleading both users and search engines.
**If you are using custom 404 template**
from django.shortcuts import render def custom_404_view(request, exception): return render(request, '404.html', status=404) # Set status=404 here
**Solution without Template**
from django.http import HttpResponseNotFound def custom_404_view(request, exception): return HttpResponseNotFound("Custom 404 page not found")