{"id":142540,"date":"2015-07-11T11:00:42","date_gmt":"2015-07-11T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=142540"},"modified":"2015-07-04T06:49:31","modified_gmt":"2015-07-04T10:49:31","slug":"fix-broken-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/fix-broken-links\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fix (Or Remove) Broken Links on Your WordPress Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you found a link (or more) on your WordPress website that leads to\u00a0the infamous\u00a0“404” error<\/a>? Try not to panic. This is actually very common \u2013 you’ve simply discovered a link that isn’t going where it’s supposed to.<\/p>\n

Broken links \u2013 otherwise known as “dead” links \u2013 are as common as dandelions\u00a0and can occur twice as frequently. The 404 error is your browser’s way of saying “Hey, this link is trying to take us somewhere… But there’s nothing here<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Considering that the usability of your links is a large factor in your site’s credibility, keeping them valid\u00a0is critical. You’ll also be happy to\u00a0know that\u00a0broken\u00a0links are incredibly easy to\u00a0fix. In fact, after reading this article, you’ll know what a broken link is, be familiar with some of the best\u00a0link-checking tools out there, and know how to quickly fix or delete broken links with the Broken Link Checker<\/a> plugin.<\/p>\n

What Are Broken Links?<\/h2>\n

Unlike working links, broken<\/em> links result in a 404 error when clicked. This is usually because they’re attempting to redirect visitors to a missing page or a non-existent\u00a0resource.<\/p>\n

They occur for quite a few\u00a0reasons, but mostly when the link’s URL points to a domain that no longer exists, has unusual firewall settings, has been hacked or has failed to maintain proper hosting.<\/p>\n

Alternatively,\u00a0broken links sometimes occur when redirecting URLs are written incorrectly. A good example is a link with “google.com” as its URL:<\/p>\n

\"Link <\/div>\n

What’s wrong with this? Actually, a lot.<\/p>\n

You see,\u00a0when the Google URL is typed this way, the browser is actually prompted to look for google.com on your site (something like https:\/\/www.yoursite.com\/google.com<\/em>). Whether you’re\u00a0creating\u00a0or fixing links, always remember to reference the full URL. You can do this by including “https:\/\/www<\/em>” as well as\u00a0the specific page you’re redirecting to (https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is a good example).<\/p>\n

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WordPress\u00a0Link-Checking Solutions<\/h2>\n

Now that you can recognize broken links, you’ll want to identify and then either modify or delete them.<\/p>\n

That may sound\u00a0easy, but locating broken links\u00a0is the most difficult part of the process. Your method for finding broken links will depend on the frequency of your posts and the density of your online content. If you have a smaller site, with only a handful of links, you can perhaps get by with manually\u00a0testing them once a month and fixing them if\u00a0they break.<\/p>\n

Can you imagine digging in and searching through a gigantic site manually? For the sake of your own sanity, don’t. While painfully testing each and every link on a large site surely builds character, using a helpful link checking tool will allow you to plough through hours (or even days) of work in mere seconds. Not only will the right program save you time, there are a great number of WordPress link-checking options, and most of them are free.<\/p>\n

Of course, you’ll need to weigh the benefits and pitfalls of the specific tools you’re considering before choosing. If you already have access to Google’s Search Console<\/a>, you’re set up for crawlers to scan your site. If you prefer to initiate your own search, there are websites like\u00a0ahrefs broken link checker<\/a> or Online Broken Link Checker<\/a> that you can use to quickly scan your site.<\/p>\n

Broken Link Checker<\/h3>\n

While certainly not the only option, Broken Link Checker<\/a>\u00a0is a well-regarded link checking plugin for WordPress.<\/p>\n

\"Broken
Broken Link Checker can be downloaded for free from WordPress.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many appreciate the plugin’s routine scans, as well as how it organizes broken links into a user-friendly table, detects missing images, and flags missing YouTube videos. This tool has been installed on 700,000+ sites and counting.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that the goal of this article isn’t to promote one plugin over another. To date, a variety of link-checking plugins can be found\u00a0in the official WordPress directory<\/a>. After reading this article,\u00a0you may very well decide that another plugin is a better solution to your needs. But since\u00a0the following link checking instructions can only demonstrate\u00a0one plugin, the Broken Link Checker will serve as our example.\u00a0Besides, it’s my favorite ;-)<\/p>\nBroken Link Checker can now also run as a cloud-based service and it’s 20x faster!<\/span>Learn more about Cloud BLC<\/span><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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How to\u00a0Fix or Remove Broken Links with Broken Link Checker<\/h3>\n

Once you have installed and activated Broken Link Checker, it will busy itself with scanning your site. You can check the scan’s progress by navigating to\u00a0Settings > Link Checker<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>from the WordPress dashboard:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Broken
BLC will automatically scan your site and check for broken links.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

You can change a number of settings\u00a0from this same page, including the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Change the frequency at which existing links are checked (new links are checked immediately).<\/li>\n
  2. Set email notifications for broken links.<\/li>\n
  3. Apply custom formatting to broken and\/or removed links.<\/li>\n
  4. Stop search engines from following broken links.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can manage advanced settings like timeouts, execution times, server load limits, show dashboard widget and link actions, select monitor options, and even do a forced recheck from the Advanced<\/strong> tab.<\/p>\n

    When you’re ready to fix some links, click the link at the top of the plugin window that says Found (x) broken links<\/strong>. The actual number will determine how many broken links you currently have.<\/p>\n

    You’ll be presented with a list of links, like this:<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n
    \"Broken
    As you can see from the number of broken links, I was in dire need of using this plugin!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    There’s a lot of information to take in here, but the interface is pretty intuitive. From left to right you have the URL of the broken link, the status of the broken link, the anchor text of the broken link, and the source (i.e. the page, post or comment on which the broken link exists).<\/p>\n

    Dealing with broken links is a piece of cake. Simply hover over a URL and your options will\u00a0appear:<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n
    \"Broken
    Broken Link Checker menu options.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    The options on here are pretty self-explanatory:<\/p>\n