Ultimate guide to identify, fix and prevent broken links on your WordPress website

Broken links, also known as dead links or 404 errors, are links that lead to non-existent pages or no longer point to a valid webpage or destination.

When visitors click on a broken link, they encounter a 404 error page instead of the intended content.

Broken links negatively impact the user experience, leading to frustration and potential abandonment of your site.

Additionally, search engines may penalize websites with a high number of broken links, affecting SEO rankings.

Fixing broken links is a crucial aspect of website maintenance.

These can occur for various reasons, such as:

1. Deleted pages: If you remove a page from your website without redirecting the links pointing to it, they become broken.
2. Domain name changes: Moving your website to a new domain name can leave behind a trail of broken links on the old domain.
3. Incorrect URLs: Typographical errors in link URLs can lead to broken links.
4. External website changes: If the external website you linked to becomes unavailable or removes the page you linked to, the link becomes broken.

This guide will walk you through the significance of identifying and fixing broken links and provide practical steps to ensure the optimal performance of your WordPress site.

Why broken links are bad for your website

1. Frustrates users: Broken links hinder the user browsing experience and can lead to user frustration and abandonment, ultimately harming brand perception.
2. Low SEO ranking: Search engines penalize websites with a high number of broken links, negatively impacting your search engine visibility.
3. Accessibility problems: Broken links can make it difficult for users to navigate your website, particularly those with disabilities relying on assistive technologies.
4. Reduced credibility: Broken links portray a lack of maintenance and can diminish your website’s credibility and professionalism.
5. Wasted traffic: Broken links lead to wasted website traffic, hindering your online marketing efforts and conversions.
6. Reduced bounce rate: Fixing broken links can encourage visitors to stay on your website longer, reducing bounce rates and improving engagement.

Ways to find broken links on your website

1. WordPress Plugins

Leverage WordPress plugins are designed to identify and manage broken links.

Utilize plugins like “Broken Link Checker” or “Link Checker Professional” to automatically scan your website and identify broken links.

These can save you time and effort as opposed to manually scanning links on your website.

2. Google Search Console

Google Search Console provides a “Coverage” report that identifies broken links on your website.

3. Use online tools

Utilize online tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to scan your website for broken links.

These tools provide comprehensive reports on the status of your links.

4. SEO Tools

SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs offer advanced features for identifying broken links and analyzing their impact on your website’s performance.

5. Monitor comments and user-generated content

If your website allows user-generated content or comments, regularly review these sections to identify and address any broken links added by users.

6. Manually check internal links

This involves navigating through your pages and ensuring that all hyperlinks lead to valid destinations.

Click through all your website pages and links to manually identify broken ones.

This method can be time-consuming and tedious for large websites.

Methods for fixing broken links

1. Update or replace URLs

If a page has been moved or a URL has changed, update the link to the new, correct URL.

This ensures that visitors are directed to the intended content. If the content has been moved, update the link to the new location.

2. Redirect links

Implement 301 redirects for URLs that have permanently moved.

This not only fixes broken links but also preserves the SEO value associated with the old URL.

If the content still exists, redirect the broken link to the correct URL using a plugin like Redirection.

3. Remove or replace outdated content

If a linked page or resource no longer exists, consider removing the link or replacing it with an alternative source of relevant information.

If the content no longer exists and cannot be replaced, remove the broken link altogether.

4. Create a custom 404 page

Design a custom 404 error page that guides users back to the main navigation or suggests alternative content.

This provides a more user-friendly experience when they encounter a broken link.

5. Regularly Update Content

Periodically, review and update your website’s content.

Ensure that all links remain relevant, and update or remove any that have become obsolete over time.

Steps to identify and fix broken links

One of the best ways to fix broken links on your WordPress website is to use the Broken Link Checker plugin by WPMU DEV.

This plugin is easy to use and can quickly scan your entire website for broken links.

1. Install and activate the Broken Link Checker plugin from the WordPress plugin directory.
2. Go to Link Checker > Local [old] to view a list of all broken links on your website.
3. For each broken link, you can:
   • Edit URL to replace the broken link with a new URL.
   • Unlink to remove the link from your website.
   • Not broken to indicate as not broken
   • Dismiss to ignore the broken link.
   • Recheck to manually request a recheck of the link
4. Once you have edited any broken links, click the Update button.
5. You can configure the plugin to scan your website for broken links on a regular schedule. This will help you identify and fix broken links before they cause any problems for your visitors.
6. The plugin also allows you to filter the list of broken links by post type, taxonomy, or anchor text.
7. If you are unable to fix a broken link, you can redirect it to another page on your website. This will prevent your visitors from seeing a 404 error page.

How to prevent broken links

1. Use a permanent permalink structure: The correct format for a permalink should be the domain and then the unique URL, e.g., example.com/post-name. If you have a large website, you could include categories in the permalink format to help make your content more accessible. This will help to ensure that your links do not break when you move or rename pages.
2. Use nofollow for external links: When linking to external websites, use the nofollow attribute to prevent your website from being penalized by search engines for link spam.
3. Automate finding broken links: Use a broken link checker plugin to scan your website for broken links regularly.
4. Check links before publishing: Before publishing new content, double-check all links to ensure they are valid. This reduces the likelihood of introducing broken links.
5. Use descriptive anchor text: Use descriptive anchor text when creating links; this helps improve accessibility and makes it easier to identify the purpose of the link during future reviews.
6. Regularly back up your website: In the event of accidental link removal or changes, having a recent backup allows you to restore your site to a previous state.
7. Use internal linking tools: Utilize plugins like “WP Internal Link Juicer” to automatically create internal links, reducing the chances of errors.
8. Monitor backlinks regularly: Use SEO tools to monitor your backlinks and identify potential broken links before they negatively impact your website.