Find and fix broken links in WordPress (with and without a plugin)

Everyone knows the scenario: You click on a link and end up on a page that just shows an ugly error message. A broken link – often known as a “dead link” or 404 error page – is not only frustrating for users but also damages your SEO.

I speak from experience: It’s incredibly annoying when you’ve spent hours perfecting a blog post and then internal links lead to nowhere. That wastes valuable link juice and hurts your ranking. But hey, don’t panic! In this guide, I’ll show you how to find and fix broken links in WordPress – with and without a plugin. I’ll also share how to avoid such errors from the outset.

A broken link is a URL that no longer exists or leads to an error page. The result is an error message, usually an HTTP 404 status code. But how does this happen in the first place? Common causes include:

• Deleted pages or posts: If you remove a blog post or page without updating the links pointing to it, the old link leads to nowhere.
• Incorrect URLs: A simple typo when linking is enough.
• Changed permalinks: If you change your site’s URL structure, old links can become invalid.
• External sites are offline: If a website you linked to no longer exists or the linked page was deleted.

Why Broken Links Are Fatal for Users & SEO

Broken links are more than just a cosmetic issue. They’re a real obstacle to user experience and can significantly hurt your SEO ranking.

Impact on User Experience
Nothing is more annoying than landing on an error page. It frustrates your readers and increases the bounce rate. The visitor leaves your site instead of continuing to explore. A website full of dead links looks unkempt and unprofessional. This lowers your credibility and signals that the content is outdated.

Negative Consequences for Your SEO
Search engines like Google analyze the quality of your links. When they encounter broken links, they see it as a negative signal.

• Wasted crawl budget: Google bots crawl your site to find new content. When they encounter broken links, they waste valuable time and resources that could be used to index relevant pages.
• Loss of link juice: Internal links distribute link juice (also known as link equity) across your website and show Google which pages are important. A broken link stops the flow and devalues the linking page.
• Lower rankings: Search engines prefer websites with a high-quality user experience and clean link profiles. Broken links signal poor quality and can negatively impact your rankings.

Avoiding Broken Links: Prevention Is the Best Protection

Broken links are a solvable problem. It’s best not to let them happen in the first place. Keep the following points in mind:

• Check internal links: When moving or deleting a post, make sure all internal links pointing to it are updated.
• Check external links regularly: Periodically review links to external websites.
• Simple URL structure: Keep your permalinks clean and readable to avoid typos.

Before I show you our solution, let’s look at how most webmasters handle the problem.

The Manual Way: Google Search Console & Other Tools

Google Search Console is a powerful, free tool that gives you reports on crawling errors, including 404 errors. The catch: the data isn’t always up to date, and you have to find and fix the links manually on your site. On a large website, this quickly becomes a full-time job.

Alternative Tools Compared: Screaming Frog, Ahrefs & Broken Link Checker Plugin

Besides Google Search Console, there are other tools to help you detect broken links:

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider: A professional desktop crawler used by many SEO experts. You can crawl your site for free to find broken links. Drawbacks: the free version is limited to 500 URLs, and you’ll need to fix the errors manually. Here’s the tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
• Ahrefs Broken Link Checker: Ahrefs offers a free online checker that quickly gives you a list of broken links. Again, you’ll have to fix them manually. It’s great for a quick overview. Try it here: Free Broken Link Checker by Ahrefs.
• Broken Link Checker Plugin: This plugin from the WordPress repository is extremely popular because it seems so easy. It scans your site in the background in real-time and notifies you about broken links. Find it here: Broken Link Checker Plugin.

I’ve experienced this problem myself and developed a solution that perfectly combines functionality and performance.

Introducing My Plugin

My External Links Overview plugin is more than just a broken link checker. It’s a comprehensive link management tool that won’t slow down your website. It allows you to quickly and easily find and fix broken links – without crashing your server.

The Advantages: Performance Boost Instead of Performance Drain

While other plugins slow your site down, ours is designed to be lean and efficient. It doesn’t run constantly in the background but only scans when you initiate it. This gives you full control over your server resources, and your site stays lightning-fast.

Fixing broken links with our plugin is super easy and saves you valuable time that you can spend creating high-quality content.

• Step 1: Installation and First Scan
  After installing the plugin, start the first scan. The plugin will crawl your entire site for internal and external links. Thanks to its efficient programming, this process only minimally impacts your site’s performance.
• Step 2: Identify & Fix Broken Links
  The plugin presents a clear list of all found links. Broken links are clearly marked so you can spot them at a glance. You can edit, remove, or set a 301 redirect for the link directly from the list.

The External Links Overview plugin goes far beyond just checking for broken links. It offers a central hub for all your link management needs.

• Monitor external links: Keep an eye on all outbound links to avoid linking to inappropriate sites.
• Check anchor texts: Make sure your anchor texts are clear and relevant to maximize SEO potential.
• Set `nofollow` attributes: Easily manage `nofollow` attributes for your links to tell Google not to pass link juice. Also read our article on external links.

Broken links are a real threat to your website – they harm the user experience and sabotage your SEO efforts. While manual methods and traditional plugins have drawbacks, my External Links Overview Plugin offers a smart, high-performance, and efficient solution. It not only fixes the issue but also helps you monitor your entire link profile. Don’t wait until your rankings suffer! Get my plugin and focus your time on what really matters: perfecting your website.