diff --git a/app/controllers/widgets_controller.rb b/app/controllers/widgets_controller.rb
index 9639b28b2..ac26a36c5 100644
--- a/app/controllers/widgets_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/widgets_controller.rb
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ class WidgetsController < ActionController::Base
 
   def set_web_widget
     @web_widget = ::Channel::WebWidget.find_by!(website_token: permitted_params[:website_token])
+  rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
+    Rails.logger.error('web widget does not exist')
+    render json: { error: 'web widget does not exist' }, status: :not_found
   end
 
   def set_token
diff --git a/spec/controllers/widgets_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/widgets_controller_spec.rb
index 8b955b6f6..71aaa084c 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/widgets_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/widgets_controller_spec.rb
@@ -33,5 +33,13 @@ describe '/widget', type: :request do
       expect(response).to have_http_status(:unauthorized)
       expect(response.body).to include('Account is suspended')
     end
+
+    it 'returns 404 if the webwidget is deleted' do
+      web_widget.delete
+
+      get widget_url(website_token: web_widget.website_token)
+      expect(response).to have_http_status(:not_found)
+      expect(response.body).to include('web widget does not exist')
+    end
   end
 end