How to Check Website Broken Links and Fix Them Quickly?

Having broken links on your website can negatively impact user experience, hinder search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, and lead to missed opportunities. It’s crucial to regularly check website broken links and fix them promptly. In this article, we’ll guide you through a simple process to identify and resolve broken links on your website efficiently.

What Are Broken Links?

Broken links, also known as dead links, are hyperlinks on a website that no longer lead to their intended destinations. When users click on these links, they encounter error pages or a “404 Not Found” message, indicating that the content they were trying to access is no longer available.

Broken links can have negative consequences for both website owners and users. They can lead to a poor user experience, as visitors encounter frustrating dead ends instead of accessing the desired content.

Additionally, search engines consider broken links as a sign of poor website quality, which can adversely affect a website’s search engine rankings and visibility.

Therefore, it is crucial for website owners to regularly check for and fix broken links to ensure a smooth browsing experience and maintain a healthy website.

Related: How to Fix Common HTML Validation Errors on Your Website?

How Do Broken Links Occur?

Learn the reasons how broken links occur on the website:

• Page Removal or Content Changes: When webpages or resources are removed or undergo significant content changes without proper redirection, the links pointing to them become broken.

• URL Changes: If the URL structure of a website is modified, existing links may no longer match the updated URLs, resulting in broken links.

• Typographical Errors: Human errors, such as typos or misspellings in URLs, can create broken links when the intended page or resource doesn’t exist.

• Linking to External Websites: Links to external websites can become broken if the target website removes or changes the location of the linked content.

• Expired or Outdated Content: Links to time-sensitive content, such as promotions, events, or news articles, may become broken once the content expires or gets removed from the website.

• Server or Hosting Issues: Technical problems, such as server errors or hosting interruptions, can lead to broken links when the linked content is temporarily or permanently unavailable.

• File or Resource Deletion: If files, images, or other resources referenced by links are deleted or moved, the links will no longer function properly.

• Software or Plugin Updates: Upgrading or changing website software, CMS platforms, or plugins can sometimes cause broken links if compatibility issues arise.

• Incomplete Linking: Mistakes in hyperlinking, such as leaving out essential parts of a URL or not specifying the correct file path, can result in broken links.

Also read: Identify and Fix Duplicate Content Issues on Your Website

Steps to Check Website Broken Links & Fix Them

Here’re the simple six steps to check website broken links:

1. Utilize Online Tools

• Start by using online tools specifically designed to find broken links on websites.

• Tools like Xenu’s Link Sleuth, Dead Link Checker, or W3C Link Checker can scan your website and generate a comprehensive report of broken links.

2. Analyze the Report

• Once you have the report, carefully analyze the list of broken links.

• Pay close attention to the URLs, page titles, and the type of error encountered (404, 403, etc.).

• Identify any patterns or recurring issues to pinpoint potential causes.

3. Fix Internal Broken Links

• Begin by addressing broken links within your website’s internal pages.

• Update or fix any outdated or incorrect URLs directly within your content management system (CMS).

• Verify that the links are properly formatted and accurately point to the intended destination.

4. Redirect or Update URLs

• If you’ve changed the URLs of certain pages or resources, implement appropriate redirects to ensure a seamless user experience.

• Use a 301 redirect for permanent changes or a 302 redirect for temporary ones.

• Update any internal or external links pointing to the old URLs.

5. Handle External Broken Links

• When encountering broken links that lead to external websites, evaluate the importance of those links.

• If the link is critical to your content, try finding an alternative source or contact the website owner to notify them about the issue.

• If the link is no longer relevant or can’t be fixed, consider removing it or replacing it with a more relevant resource.

6. Regularly Monitor and Maintain

• Broken links can occur over time, especially as your website evolves.

• Implement a routine to regularly check for broken links and fix them promptly.

• Consider setting up automatic monitoring tools that can alert you when new broken links are detected.

Related: Fix MySQL Port Conflict Issue on XAMPP

Popular Tools to Check Website Broken Links

Let’s explore the 10 popular tools that can help you check website broken links in a few seconds:

1. Xenu’s Link Sleuth

• Free tool for Windows users.

• Crawls through your website and generates a detailed report of broken links.

• Provides information on broken URLs, page titles, and error codes.

• Supports both internal and external link checking.

• Offers advanced features like image verification and link filtering.

2. Dead Link Checker

• Online tool with both free and premium plans.

• Scans your website for broken links and generates a comprehensive report.

• Provides detailed information about broken links, including status codes.

• Offers options for internal and external link checking.

• Allows scheduling periodic scans for automated broken link detection.

3. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

• A powerful desktop tool available for Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu.

• Performs a thorough website crawl and identifies broken links.

• Offers customizable reports with detailed information about broken links.

• Supports bulk link checking and extraction of URLs.

• Provides additional SEO-related features like metadata analysis and duplicate content detection.

4. Google Search Console

• Free web service by Google for website owners.

• Monitors and reports broken links indexed by Google.

• Notifies you about crawl errors and broken links on your website.

• Provides insights into the URLs with issues and their respective error codes.

• Allows you to submit a sitemap for better indexing and monitoring.

5. W3C Link Checker

• Online tool by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

• Validates and checks the integrity of links on your website.

• Scans both HTML and CSS documents for broken links.

• Highlights broken links and provides detailed error information.

• Offers options to customize the link checking process.

6. Ahrefs Site Audit

• Comprehensive SEO tool with a site audit feature.

• Scans your website for broken links and other SEO-related issues.

• Generates detailed reports with information about broken links, error codes, and anchor text.

• Provides suggestions for fixing broken links and improving website health.

• Offers additional features like backlink analysis and keyword research.

7. SEMrush Site Audit

• All-in-one SEO tool with a site audit feature.

• Detects and reports broken links on your website.

• Provides detailed information about broken links, including status codes.

• Offers recommendations for fixing broken links and improving website performance.

• Includes features for competitor analysis and keyword tracking.

Check this tool: SEMrush

8. Moz Pro Site Crawl

• SEO tool with a site crawl feature for checking broken links.

• Crawls your website to identify broken links and other issues.

• Generates comprehensive reports with information on broken links and their respective error codes.

• Offers suggestions for fixing broken links and improving website optimization.

• Provides additional features for keyword research and link analysis.

9. Check My Links (Chrome extension)

• Free Google Chrome extension for checking broken links.

• Scans web pages and highlights broken links in real-time.

• Provides detailed information about broken links and their error codes.

• Allows you to export the results for further analysis.

• Lightweight and easy-to-use tool for quick link checking.

10. Broken Link Checker (WordPress plugin)

• Plugin for WordPress websites to check and fix broken links.

• Scans your website for broken links and missing images.

• Notifies you via email or WordPress dashboard about broken links.

• Provides options to edit or remove broken links directly from the plugin interface.

• Offers scheduling options for regular automatic scans.

Also read: Fix the Pagination Issue or 404 Page

Benefits of Fixing Website’s Broken Link

Here are some benefits of fixing a website’s broken links:

• Improved User Experience: Fixing broken links enhances user experience by improving website navigation and making it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

• Enhanced SEO: By fixing broken links, you improve your website’s SEO as search engines view them negatively and properly indexing your site becomes possible.

• Increased Credibility and Trust: Regularly fixing broken links demonstrates your commitment to providing accurate and reliable information, thereby increasing credibility and trust with visitors.

• Reduced Bounce Rate: Fixing broken links reduces the bounce rate, preventing visitors from leaving your site due to dead-end pages or error messages, which can negatively impact search engine rankings.

• Improved Conversion Rates: Functional links create a seamless path for visitors to complete desired actions, leading to improved conversion rates, increased revenue, and more leads.

• Better Analytics and Insights: Fixing broken links ensures accurate website analytics by eliminating errors and missing data, allowing for better insights into user behavior.

• Positive Reputation and Referrals: A website that maintains a high standard of quality, including fixing broken links, is more likely to receive positive reviews and recommendations.

Related: Top 8 Website Accessibility Tools

Final Thought

Checking and fixing broken links on your website is crucial for maintaining a seamless user experience and optimizing your online presence. By regularly reviewing and resolving broken links, you ensure that visitors can navigate your site effortlessly, search engines can index your content effectively, and your credibility remains intact.

Embracing this proactive approach not only improves user satisfaction but also enhances your website’s performance, SEO rankings, and overall reputation in the digital landscape. So, take the time to check your website for broken links and swiftly address them to provide a seamless browsing experience for your visitors.