Gone Control

When content is deleted in WordPress, the default behavior is to return a 404 (Not Found) status code. However, according to HTTP specifications, a 410 (Gone) status code is more appropriate for resources that have been permanently deleted and will not return.

This plugin automatically returns a 410 status code for:
– Deleted posts
– Deleted pages
– Deleted custom post types
– Deleted users
– Deleted media attachments

Once activated, the plugin works automatically. When a visitor tries to access a URL that previously contained content but has been deleted or moved to trash, they will receive:

• A 410 HTTP status code in the response headers
• The standard WordPress 404 page template (customizable via your theme)

Related Resources

• HTTP 410 Gone – MDN Web Docs
• RFC 7231 – HTTP Status Codes
• Google’s guidelines on 410 vs 404