Static files return 404 after deployment despite successful collectstatic

Static files (CSS, images) occasionally fail to load after deployment with 404 errors, even though files exist in /staticfiles/ directory and collectstatic runs successfully. Temporary fix requires restarting Gunicorn or clearing cache.

Restart Gunicorn after deployment to reload static file mappings. Investigate WhiteNoise cache configuration and static file reference strategy. Review deployment process to ensure static file serving is properly initialized before accepting traffic.