How to fix broken links on WordPress sites

What Causes Broken Links?

A 404 Not Found page occurs when a user clicks on a broken or dead link, indicating that the browser couldn’t find the requested web page’s content. This can happen if the content was deleted or moved elsewhere.

Apart from these reasons, broken links can occur in WordPress sites due to various other factors:

  1. Misspelled URL: Incorrect URLs can lead users to different pages or trigger 404 errors.
  2. DNS propagation: The process of transferring a domain name to a new host may take up to 48 hours and can cause errors on the site during that period.
  3. Temporary downtime: When the server responsible for a website stops working, the site becomes inaccessible.
  4. Compatibility issues: Incompatible WordPress themes or plugins can interfere with site files and affect the URL structure.
  5. Changes in permalink structure: Incorrectly modifying the permanent links of a site’s blog posts can result in broken links.

Broken links are a common issue that can affect any website. The longer a website exists and the more frequently it updates its content, the higher the likelihood of encountering such problems. This is referred to as link rot. You can follow the steps given below to fix the broken link or if you don’t want to do it yourself, you can contact our WordPress designers to fix broken links for you.

How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress Using Plugins

To fix broken links in WordPress using plugins, you can utilize the following plugins :

Broken Link Checker: A popular and well-documented plugin, Broken Link Checker helps you identify and resolve broken links on your WordPress site. It offers features like automatic scanning, editing/unlinking broken links, and customization options for scanning frequency and content types to monitor.

Here are the steps to fix broken links in WordPress using the Broken Link Checker plugin

Broken Link Checker:

  • Download and install the Broken Link Checker plugin from the WordPress plugin directory.
  • Activate the plugin in your WordPress admin dashboard.
  • Go to Settings -> Link Checker to access the plugin’s options.
  • The plugin will start scanning your site for broken links automatically.
  • View the broken link results by clicking on “Found X broken links.”
  • To fix a broken link, click on “Edit URL” or “Unlink” below the link.
  • Customize the plugin settings, such as scanning frequency and content types to monitor, in the respective tabs.
  • Use additional features like excluding specific URLs and configuring protocols in the Advanced tab.
  • Utilize options like rechecking all pages and bulk link editing/unlinking in the Advanced tab.

Link Checker: This plugin utilizes an external service to crawl and index pages on your WordPress site, checking for broken links and images. It provides a detailed report of broken links found, making it easier to locate and fix them. The plugin offers a free version for checking 500 links and a premium version for more extensive checks.

Here are the steps to fix broken links in WordPress using the Link Checker plugin;

Link Checker:

  • Download and install the Link Checker plugin from the WordPress plugin directory.
  • Activate the plugin in your WordPress admin dashboard.
  • Access the Link Checker menu on the dashboard.
  • Select “Check your website” to initiate the scanning process.
  • Review the results in the “Result” tab, which displays broken links along with post type and status.
  • Consider upgrading to the premium version for more comprehensive checks, including broken images and videos.

By following these steps, you can effectively identify and fix broken links on your WordPress site using the Broken Link Checker and Link Checker plugins.

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Saurabh

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