Identify and fix broken links in WordPress

Broken links lead to a web page that either does not exist anymore or does not resolve properly. If you have a broken link on your site, instead of the intended content, your visitors will see a 404 Not Found error when they try to follow the link. To prevent this from happening, you can use an online third-party tool like Broken Link Checker to get the list of broken links on your site and then fix them manually one by one.

Identify broken links

1. Visit Broken Link Checker in a browser.
2. In the field on the right, enter your domain.
3. Select Find broken links.
4. When the next page opens, enter the security code and then select Report all occurrences of each dead link (may be slower).
5. Select Find broken links now.
6. Allow time for the tool to run. Once completed, you'll see the list of broken links on your site.

Fix broken links

1. From the table with identified broken links, under Link Text, copy the text for the first item from the list.
2. Under Page where found, select url for that item. It'll open the page with a broken link in a new browser tab.
3. Search the web page for the copied text. That's the text associated with the broken link.
4. After you have found the link on your site, sign in to WordPress. If you're already signed in, skip this step.
5. In your WordPress dashboard, on the left-side menu, select Pages or Posts and then find the page or post with the broken link.
6. Select the title of that page or post.
7. On that page or post, find and select the broken link.
8. Select Edit and replace the broken link.
9. Select Submit (or select Enter on your keyboard).
10. Select Update.
11. Repeat steps 1-10 to remove all broken links from your site.

Related step

• Clear your site cache and run the Broken Link Checker tool again to make sure that all broken links are fixed. If your site runs on Managed WordPress hosting plan, here's how to clear cache from the WordPress dashboard.

More info

• For support or inquiries regarding Broken Link Checker, here's how to contact their team directly.