Problem

As I explained in #1841, we should improve the error messages. Currently:

• The die_with_error method shows an empty page with the error text.
• The die_with_404 method shows a template that can be improved.

Fixes #1841.
See WordPress/wporg-gp-translation-events#251.
Fixes WordPress/wporg-gp-translation-events#251.

Solution

In the issue, I proposed to add a template to the die_with_error method and improve the 404 template.

This PR:

• Updates the 404 template.
• Updates the die_with_error method to load a new generic template: error.php:
  • If the request is an AJAX request, it maintains the old functionality.
  • If the request is not an AJAX request, it returns a new template: error.php by default.

Old 404 template

New 404 template

Error with the old approach

Error with the new template

Testing Instructions

To test this PR:

• To test the updates in the 404 template, you need to access to a non-existent URL: https://glotpress.test/glotpress/non-existent-url
• To test the new template, you can change the die_with_error method with the new parameters:

I tested it here, with the wporg-gp-translation-events plugin, that depends on GlotPress and uses the die_with_error method.

I updated this code:

		try {
			$event_stats = $this->stats_calculator->for_event( $event->id() );
		} catch ( Exception $e ) {
			// phpcs:ignore WordPress.PHP.DevelopmentFunctions.error_log_error_log
			error_log( $e );
			$this->die_with_error( esc_html__( 'Failed to calculate event stats', 'gp-translation-events' ) );
		}

With this:

		try {
			$event_stats = $this->stats_calculator->for_event( $event->id() );
			throw new Exception('This is a test');
		} catch ( Exception $e ) {
			// phpcs:ignore WordPress.PHP.DevelopmentFunctions.error_log_error_log
			error_log( $e );
			$this->die_with_error(
				esc_html__( 'Failed to calculate event stats', 'gp-translation-events' ),
				500,
				esc_html__( 'Error', 'gp-translation-events' ),
				'error'
			);
		}

So I forced to fire a new exception, and then I show the new template.

Screenshots or screencast