Broken links are one of the most common — and most overlooked — issues on the web. A single dead link can frustrate visitors, signal poor maintenance to search engines, and silently drain your organic traffic. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to find every broken link on your site and fix them efficiently.

What counts as a broken link?

A broken link is any hyperlink that points to a resource that no longer exists or can't be reached. The most common types include:

404 Not Found — the target page was deleted or moved without a redirect.
500 Server Errors — the destination server is experiencing issues.
Connection timeouts — the server doesn't respond within the expected time.
DNS failures — the domain no longer exists or DNS records are misconfigured.
Redirect loops — a chain of redirects that never reaches a final destination.
Broken images — img tags pointing to missing or moved image files.

Step 1: Scan your website

The fastest way to find broken links is to use an automated scanner. Broken Link Scan crawls up to 500 pages for free — no account required. It checks every link, image, and media resource with real HTTP requests, giving you a complete picture of your site's health.

For larger sites, tools like Screaming Frog (desktop, up to 500 URLs free) or Ahrefs Site Audit (paid) can also help. The key is to use a tool that performs real HTTP requests rather than just parsing HTML, since some broken links only fail at the network level.

Step 2: Prioritize your fixes

Not all broken links are equally important. Prioritize based on:

Internal broken links — these are entirely under your control and directly affect crawlability.
Links on high-traffic pages — broken links on your homepage or top landing pages impact more visitors.
Broken images — missing images create a visibly poor experience and hurt trust.
External dead links — less urgent but still worth fixing to maintain credibility.

Step 3: Fix each broken link

There are three strategies for fixing broken links, depending on the situation:

Set up a 301 redirect

If the content moved to a new URL, create a permanent redirect from the old URL to the new one. This preserves link equity and ensures visitors reach the right page. In Apache, add to your .htaccess:

Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page

In Nginx:

rewrite ^/old-page$ /new-page permanent;

Update the link

If you control the page containing the broken link, simply update the href to point to the correct destination. This is the cleanest fix.

Remove the link

If the linked content no longer exists and there's no suitable replacement, remove the link entirely. Don't leave dead ends for your visitors.

Step 4: Prevent future broken links

Fixing broken links once isn't enough. New ones appear as content gets moved, external sites go offline, or URLs change during redesigns. Set up a regular scanning schedule:

Small sites (under 100 pages): monthly manual scan
Medium sites (100-1,000 pages): weekly automated scan
Large sites (1,000+ pages): daily automated scan

Broken Link Scan's paid plans offer automated weekly or daily monitoring with email alerts when new broken links are detected — so you can fix issues before your visitors notice them.

Common causes of broken links

Understanding why broken links appear helps you prevent them:

Page deletions without redirects — always set up a 301 when removing or moving content.
URL structure changes — CMS migrations or permalink changes often break existing links.
External site changes — you can't control when other websites remove or move their content.
Typos in URLs — manual link entry is error-prone. Always copy-paste or use CMS link pickers.
Expired domains — if a linked site's domain expires, all links to it break.

Conclusion

Broken links are inevitable, but letting them accumulate is a choice. A regular scanning routine takes minutes and can save you significant SEO value and user trust. Start with a free scan to see where your site stands today.

How to Find and Fix Broken Links on Your Website (2026 Guide)