What a broken link is and why it matters

A broken link is a hyperlink that no longer works because the page it points to has been deleted, moved, or renamed. When someone clicks a broken link, they see an error page instead of the content they expected. Broken links hurt your site's usability — visitors get frustrated — and they also signal to search engines that your site may not be well-maintained.

Broken links fall into two categories. External broken links point to pages on other websites that no longer exist. Internal broken links point to pages within your own site that you have deleted or moved without updating the link. Internal broken links are usually your priority because they directly affect your visitors' experience on your site.

Key Takeaways

  • Broken links occur when the page they point to has been deleted, moved, or renamed, and they create error pages for visitors.
  • You can find broken links using free online tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or your website platform's built-in checker.
  • To fix an internal broken link, update the URL in your link code to point to the correct page, or delete the link if that page no longer exists.
  • For external broken links, replace the URL with a working alternative or remove the link entirely if no suitable replacement exists.
  • After fixing broken links, test them by clicking through to confirm they now load the correct page.

Finding broken links on your site

Before you can fix a broken link, you need to find it. The easiest method depends on what platform your site runs on. If you use WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or another hosted platform, check whether it has a built-in link checker in the dashboard — many do, and you can run a scan without leaving your admin panel.

If your platform does not have a built-in checker, use Google Search Console (free, requires a Google account). Sign in, select your site, go to the "Coverage" report, and look for pages marked as "Excluded" or "Error" — these often contain broken links. You can also use free standalone tools like Screaming Frog (desktop process) or Broken Link Checker (online tool). These crawl your entire site and produce a report listing every broken link, the page it appears on, and the broken URL itself.

Write down or export the list of broken links. For each one, note whether it is internal (pointing to your own site) or external (pointing elsewhere), because the fix differs.

Fixing internal broken links

An internal broken link points to a page on your own site that no longer exists. To fix it, you have two options: redirect the link to a working page, or delete the link entirely.

Option 1: Update the link to point to the correct page. Log into your site's editor or admin panel. Find the page that contains the broken link. Edit the link's URL to point to the correct page instead. For example, if the link pointed to /old-products but you have moved that content to /current-products, change the URL to the new path. Save your changes and test the link by clicking it to confirm it now loads the right page.

Option 2: Delete the link. If the page the link pointed to no longer exists and you have no suitable replacement, remove the link from the text. This is often the cleanest solution — a sentence without a link is better than a sentence with a broken one. Edit the page, delete the link code, and save.

If you have deleted a page that was popular or received traffic from search engines, consider setting up a redirect instead. A redirect automatically sends visitors (and search engines) from the old URL to a new one. Most website platforms have a redirect tool in settings. This preserves the visitor experience and protects your search ranking.

Fixing external broken links

An external broken link points to a page on another website that has been deleted or moved. You cannot control whether that page exists, so your options are limited.

Option 1: Replace the link with a working alternative. Search for updated or similar content on the same website or elsewhere. If you find a good replacement, update the link's URL. For example, if you linked to a news article that has been archived, you might link to a newer article on the same topic instead. Update the URL in your link code, save, and test.

Option 2: Remove the link. If you cannot find a suitable replacement, delete the link from your text. The sentence should still make sense without it. This is often the safest choice because a broken external link reflects poorly on your site, even though you did not cause the problem.

You can also use the Wayback Machine (archive.org) to check whether an older version of the page was archived. If it was, you might link to the archived version instead, though this is a workaround rather than a permanent solution.

Testing links after you fix them

After you update or delete a broken link, test it when ready. Click the link yourself and confirm that it loads the page you intended. If you updated an internal link, the page should load without error. If you updated an external link, the new page should load and be relevant to the original link text.

If the link still does not work, double-check the URL for typos. A single missing character or incorrect slash will break the link. Copy the URL directly from the address bar of the page you want to link to, rather than typing it by hand — this reduces the chance of error.

After fixing several links, run your link checker tool again to confirm they no longer appear in the broken links report. This confirms the fix worked and gives you a clean report to work from.

Preventing broken links in the future

The best approach to broken links is to avoid creating them in the first place. Before you delete a page from your site, search for any links pointing to it. You can do this in Google Search Console by searching for the page URL, or by using your site's search function. Update or delete those links before you remove the page.

When you move a page to a new URL, set up a redirect from the old URL to the new one when ready. This keeps existing links working and tells search engines that the page has moved rather than disappeared. Most platforms make this straightforward — look for "Redirects" or "URL Management" in your site settings.

Run your link checker tool once a month or once a quarter, depending on how often you update your site. External links break over time as other websites change, so regular checks catch problems before visitors encounter them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for search engines to notice I fixed a broken link?

Search engines re-crawl your site on their own schedule, which can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. You can speed this up by submitting your site to Google Search Console and requesting a re-crawl. This tells Google to check your site sooner rather than waiting for the next automatic crawl.

Will fixing broken links improve my search ranking?

Fixing broken links improves user experience and signals that your site is well-maintained, both of which search engines favor. However, broken links are not a major ranking factor on their own. The real benefit is keeping visitors on your site instead of sending them to error pages.

What is the difference between a 404 error and a broken link?

A broken link is the link itself — the code pointing to a non-existent page. A 404 error is what the visitor sees when they click that link. The 404 is the result of the broken link. Fixing the link prevents the 404 from appearing.

Can I fix broken links if I do not know how to code?

Yes. Most website platforms (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, etc.) have visual editors where you can click a link, edit the URL, and save — no coding required. If you use a platform with a code editor, you can still edit links by finding the URL text and changing it, even without deep technical knowledge.

Should I fix external broken links if I did not cause them?

Yes. Even though you did not break the external link, it still creates a bad experience for your visitors. Replacing it with a working alternative or removing it improves your site's credibility and keeps people engaged with your content.