I recently switched from using this in my .htaccess file
RewriteRule ^example index.php?page=example [L]
To this:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^([^./]+)/?$ index.php?page=$1 [L,QSA]
The issue is that if I visit something like example.com/euffhfrfreif - it'll just display me my homepage.
I'm trying to configure vanity URLs, so that rather than visitors using example.com/index.php?page=contact, they'll just visit example.com/contact - I've seen this a lot online and it's supposed to be better for Google, etc.
This error doesn't apply to any folders, so visiting example.com/djfhds/fdjdnf will display a 404 error.
How can I get my 404 error back but keep (or keep something similar too) my new system?
Also: I have rewriteengine on and a 404 error page defined in .htaccess.
Based on your shown samples, could you please try following rules. Please make sure you clear your browser cache before testing your URLs.
RewriteEngine ON
RewriteRule ^([^./]+)/?$ index.php?page=$1 [L]
The issue is that you are using an else statement in index.php to show your homepage.
Change your else statement to a 404 error page and make your home page be at index.php?page=home, then add this to htaccess:
RewriteRule ^([^./]+)/?$ index.php?page=$1 [L]