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Resolving the .bs_model 404 Error in Blogus and Related Themes

44 threads Sep 16, 2025 Theme → Blogus

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Users of the Blogus theme and its related variants, such as Blogrift, have reported a recurring issue where invalid URLs ending in .bs_model are generated, leading to 404 errors. This problem can negatively impact user experience and search engine crawling. This guide explains the cause and provides the most effective solutions.

What Causes the .bs_model 404 Error?

Based on community reports and code analysis, this error is caused by hardcoded HTML in the theme's template files. The issue is not with your site's content or permalink structure, but with the theme's code itself. Specifically, the header.php file contains anchor tags (<a>) with an href attribute set to the value ".bs_model". This is typically intended to trigger a modal search popup using JavaScript, but it incorrectly creates a broken, relative link that search engines and users may try to follow.

How to Fix the .bs_model 404 Error

Solution 1: Update the Theme

The most straightforward fix is to ensure you are running the latest version of the theme. The Blogus team has acknowledged this bug in community forums and has stated they will fix it in a future update. Always check your WordPress Dashboard > Appearance > Themes for an available update.

Solution 2: Manual Code Edit (For Advanced Users)

If an update is not immediately available, you can manually correct the code. This requires directly editing your theme's files.

  1. Access your website's files via your hosting provider's File Manager or an FTP client.
  2. Navigate to /wp-content/themes/your-theme-name/ (replace 'your-theme-name' with 'blogus' or 'blogrift').
  3. Locate and open the header.php file for editing.
  4. Search for any instances of href=".bs_model".
  5. Change these instances to use a valid JavaScript trigger. The most common and correct replacement is: href="javascript:void(0)".
  6. Save the file and clear your website's cache if you use a caching plugin.

Warning: Editing theme files directly is a temporary solution. Your changes will be overwritten the next time you update the theme. It is recommended to use a child theme for any permanent customizations.

Conclusion

The .bs_model 404 error is a known code-level bug in certain versions of the Blogus theme. The recommended course of action is to first check for a theme update from the developers. If a fix is not yet available, advanced users can apply a temporary manual edit to resolve the broken links. Always remember to back up your site before making any changes to its code.

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