If record is not found in the database, should I return a 404?

Question

I have pages with structure like this some_page?id=123

Sometimes records are deleted, but those pages still get visited by people and search engines. One problem is that I have a php script and no MVC structure, so I have to query the DB all on the same page before I find out that the user record does not exist.

Should I return a 404 in that case? Or what is best practice?

Thanks!

Answer 1

If the client (users, search engines, etc.) requests a resource that does not exist and has never existed, a 404 status ("Not Found") should be returned.

However, if a resource is requested that once existed and has since been permanently removed, a 410 status ("Gone") should be returned. A 410 status specifically states that the resource will never be available in the future, and triggers search engines to remove that page from their indexes.

A 301 status is used if a resource's location has changed permanently.

Answer 2

A 404 is when something is not found and since the resource being looked up is not found, it seems entirely appropriate to me.