How to Find and Fix Broken Links on Your Website

Broken links create dead ends for visitors and can make a website look neglected. They appear when a page has been deleted, a URL has changed, an external site has moved, or a small typing error has slipped into a hyperlink. A visitor clicking an internal link may see a 404 page, while an outdated external link may lead to a missing resource, an irrelevant page, or a security warning.

Regular link checking protects the user experience, supports search engine optimisation, and helps search engines understand how your website is organised. Whether you run a personal blog, a local service website, or a busy online shop targeting customers in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane, a practical audit can uncover problems before they affect traffic and trust.

Understand Which Links Are Broken

An internal broken link points to a missing page on your own website. Common examples include links to an old blog post, a product page removed from an online shop, or a category URL changed during a redesign. An external broken link points to another domain where the target page no longer exists or the website has stopped operating.

A 404 error usually means the server cannot find the requested page. A 410 status indicates that content has been intentionally removed. Some links create redirect chains, where one URL sends visitors through several redirects before reaching the final page. Others produce soft 404 errors, showing a page that looks normal but tells search engines that the requested content is unavailable.

Broken links can affect more than navigation. They waste crawl activity, interrupt the movement of authority between pages, and make useful content harder to discover. They can also reduce conversions when a visitor cannot reach a contact form, booking page, pricing page, or checkout screen.

Run a Complete Link Audit

Start with Google Search Console. The Page indexing report can reveal URLs returning errors, while URL Inspection helps you check individual pages. Search Console will not identify every broken link on your website, so use it alongside a crawler for a fuller audit.

Tools such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Sitebulb, Ahrefs, Semrush, and various online broken-link checkers can crawl your site and report response codes. A crawler usually shows the source page, the broken destination, the type of link, and the server response. For a smaller WordPress blog, a plugin may be convenient, but running too many automated checks can consume hosting resources.

Enter your website’s main domain into the crawler and allow it to follow internal links. Include important areas such as blog posts, landing pages, author archives, image links, downloadable PDFs, and navigation menus. If your website serves Australian customers through a .com.au domain, check old campaign URLs and location pages carefully, since these are often changed during marketing updates.

Export the results into a spreadsheet or project board. Group the errors by priority rather than attempting to repair them randomly. A broken link on a high-traffic service page deserves immediate attention, while an outdated reference in a five-year-old post may require a slower editorial decision.

Find the Cause of Each Error

Open the source page and inspect the link itself. Look for spelling mistakes, missing hyphens, incorrect capitalisation, extra spaces, or an old folder name. A link may appear correct in the visible text while its underlying HTML points to another address. This is common after copying content between editors or importing articles from a previous content management system.

Check whether the target page has moved. If the content now exists at a different URL, a permanent 301 redirect is usually the appropriate solution. Update the link on the source page as well, so future visitors go directly to the correct destination and the website avoids unnecessary redirect hops.

For external links, open the destination in a private browser window and verify the content. The domain may have changed, the page may require a login, or the original information may have become unreliable. A link that technically loads can still be unsuitable if it leads to a suspicious website, a sales page unrelated to the original reference, or information that no longer reflects current Australian regulations.

Review links affected by website migrations with extra care. Moving from HTTP to HTTPS, changing permalink settings, or transferring from one host to another can create hundreds of errors. Hosting performance can also affect checks, particularly on websites using shared servers or NBN connections with unstable upload speeds during large crawls.

Choose the Right Repair

Replace a broken link when a relevant and trustworthy page is available. This is often the best option for an external reference that has moved. If the original source has disappeared, find an equivalent resource rather than sending readers to a generic homepage. For example, a local business blog might replace an expired Australian government information page with its current official version.

Use a 301 redirect when an old internal URL has a clear, permanent successor. Set the redirect at the server or content management system level, then update internal links to the new address. Avoid redirecting every deleted page to the homepage because this can confuse visitors and may be treated as a poor substitute for the original content.

If a page has no useful replacement, remove the link or rewrite the surrounding paragraph. For an intentionally deleted page with no successor, a 410 response can accurately communicate that the content is gone. A custom 404 page should provide navigation, a search function, and helpful links to key sections, allowing visitors to continue browsing instead of leaving immediately.

Pay attention to links inside downloadable files, menus, widgets, and images. A broken button or linked logo can be just as damaging as a faulty text link. Test forms, booking systems, product filters, and payment journeys manually after making changes, since a crawler may identify the URL but cannot always confirm that the complete user journey works.

Prevent Broken Links From Returning

Schedule link audits according to the size and activity of your website. A small blog may need a monthly or quarterly check, while an online store with frequent product changes should scan more often. Run another crawl after a redesign, domain migration, permalink change, or large content update.

Create a simple publishing checklist. Before an article goes live, open every internal and external link, confirm that it leads to the intended page, and check that links work on mobile devices. Use descriptive anchor text such as “download the website security checklist” instead of vague wording like “click here”. Clear anchor text helps visitors and search engines understand the destination.

Keep a record of removed pages and approved replacements. This is especially useful for seasonal campaigns, EOFY promotions, event pages, and local landing pages that may be archived after a deadline. Australian businesses can also review links related to public holidays, delivery schedules, state-based services, and changing government information.

Monitor Search Console, analytics reports, and server logs for recurring 404 requests. A sudden increase may indicate a faulty menu, a plugin conflict, or a migration issue. Set up redirect rules carefully, keep your sitemap updated, and make sure new content links to older relevant pages. A consistent maintenance routine is faster and less expensive than repairing a large collection of dead links after traffic has already declined.

Begin with your highest-value pages, run a full crawl, and record each error in a repair list. Replace valid destinations, redirect permanent URL changes, remove unusable references, and test every important user journey. Make link checking part of your regular website maintenance so visitors from Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, and beyond can reach the information they need without encountering digital dead ends.