diff --git a/handler.go b/handler.go
index 82b382c6e..b01b73ddb 100644
--- a/handler.go
+++ b/handler.go
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ func (h *Handler) handleWebUI(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	}
 	statikFS, err := fs.New()
 	if err != nil {
+		h.writeQueryResponse(w, r, &QueryResponse{Err: err})
 		fmt.Println("Pilosa WebUI is not available. Please run `make generate-statik` before building Pilosa with `make install`.")
 		return
 	}