How to Find and Fix Broken Links on Your Website in 2026: Complete Guide

Broken links are one of those website problems that are easy to ignore because your website can still look completely normal to visitors.

A page loads. The navigation works. Your homepage looks professional. Your blog is publishing regularly.

But somewhere inside the website, a link may lead to a 404 page, redirect somewhere unexpected, point to an outdated URL, or simply no longer work.

These problems can create a frustrating experience for visitors and make website maintenance harder. They can also interfere with how users and search engines move through your site.

The good news is that broken links are usually straightforward to identify and fix.

In this guide, you'll learn how to find broken links on your website, understand which types matter most, fix them correctly, and build a simple process for preventing them from becoming a recurring problem.

What Is a Broken Link?

A broken link is a hyperlink that no longer leads to the intended destination.

For example, suppose you originally linked to:

https://example.com/services

Later, the page was deleted or its URL was changed to:

https://example.com/website-services

If the old link remains on your website, visitors may click it and receive a 404 error or another unsuccessful response.

Broken links can appear in:

• Blog posts

• Navigation menus

• Footer links

• Buttons

• Images

• Product pages

• Service pages

• Internal links

• External links

• PDFs and downloadable resources

• Old campaign pages

A broken link is therefore not necessarily a problem with the page containing the link. The destination may be the part that changed.

Why Do Broken Links Happen?

Websites change constantly.

Pages get deleted, URLs are renamed, domains expire, websites migrate to new platforms, and external websites reorganize their content.

Common causes include:

1. A Page Was Deleted

A website owner may remove an old page without checking which pages still link to it.

2. A URL Was Changed

For example:

/seo-guide

may become:

/seo-guide-2026

If the old URL isn't redirected or internal links aren't updated, old links can stop working.

3. A Website Migration Changed URLs

Moving from one CMS or website structure to another can create hundreds of outdated links if URL mappings aren't handled properly.

4. A Typo Exists in the URL

Even one missing character can turn a working URL into a broken one.

For example:

/website-audit

versus:

/website-audti

5. An External Website Changed

You can link to a perfectly valid external page today and discover months later that the external website has removed or moved it.

6. Temporary Server Problems

Sometimes a destination fails temporarily because of server errors or availability problems.

This is why you shouldn't immediately delete a link just because a single automated check reports a temporary failure.

Are Broken Links Bad for SEO?

This question needs a careful answer.

A broken link is not automatically a ranking penalty.

You should not assume that finding one 404 link means Google will lower your entire website's rankings.

The more useful way to think about broken links is through website quality, crawlability, navigation, and user experience.

If important pages contain many broken links, users can have difficulty reaching useful information. Search engines can also encounter unnecessary obstacles while discovering and navigating your site.

Google recommends making websites accessible and crawlable, and its documentation emphasizes the importance of helping search engines discover pages and understand site structure.

So the goal isn't:

"Fix every 404 because Google penalizes 404s."

The better goal is:

Make sure your important website paths work and that visitors and crawlers can reach the content you actually want them to find.

Broken Link vs 404 Error: What's the Difference?

These terms are related but aren't exactly the same.

A broken link describes the link from the user's perspective: clicking it doesn't take the visitor to the intended content.

A 404 error is an HTTP response indicating that the requested resource wasn't found.

For example:

https://example.com/old-page

could return:

404 Not Found

If your website still contains a link pointing to that URL, that link is broken.

However, not every 404 is necessarily a problem.

A page that was intentionally removed may correctly return a 404.

The important question is:

Does another important page still link to it?

If yes, investigate the link.

How to Find Broken Links on Your Website

There are several ways to find broken links.

For a small website, you can manually check important pages.

For a larger website, automated crawling is much more practical.

Method 1: Check Important Pages Manually

Start with your:

• Homepage

• Main navigation

• Pricing page

• Service pages

• Product pages

• Popular blog posts

• Important landing pages

Click important links and confirm that they reach the expected destination.

This method is simple but doesn't scale well.

A website with 10 pages may be manageable.

A website with 1,000 pages is a completely different situation.

Method 2: Use a Website Crawler

A crawler can visit pages on your website and examine the links it discovers.

A useful website crawler can help identify:

• Broken internal links

• Broken external links

• 404 responses

• Redirects

• Redirect chains

• Missing pages

• URLs returning server errors

• Orphaned pages

• Incorrect internal links

This is usually the fastest approach for a growing website.

Method 3: Use Google Search Console

Google Search Console is useful for understanding how Google sees your website.

You can use tools such as URL Inspection and reports in Search Console to investigate indexing and crawling-related issues.

Google also recommends using Search Console to monitor how Google sees your website and to inspect URLs when troubleshooting technical issues.

However, Search Console should not be treated as a complete replacement for a website crawler.

Your own crawl can discover links that Google hasn't necessarily reported to you.

How to Check Broken Links Step by Step

Here's a practical workflow you can use.

Step 1: Create a List of Important URLs

Start with the pages that matter most to your website.

For example:

Don't begin by trying to fix hundreds of minor URLs.

Start with important pages.

Step 2: Crawl Your Website

Use a website auditing tool or crawler to discover links.

The crawler should examine the HTML of your pages and identify links pointing to other URLs.

For each link, record:

• Source URL

• Destination URL

• HTTP status

• Anchor text

• Internal or external

• Redirect status

• Whether the destination is still relevant

A simple report might look like this:

This makes prioritization much easier.

Step 3: Separate Internal and External Broken Links

This distinction is important.

Internal broken link

A link from your website to another page on your own website.

Example:

auditwebai.com/blog/article-a

→

auditwebai.com/blog/old-article

You control both sides, so you should normally fix it.

External broken link

A link from your website to another domain.

Example:

auditwebai.com/blog/article-a

→

example.com/resource

If the external page has disappeared, you can:

1. Find the new location.

2. Replace it with another reliable source.

3. Remove the link if it is no longer useful.

Don't replace an external link with an unrelated page simply to eliminate the error.

Step 4: Check the Destination Before Fixing It

Don't blindly replace every reported broken link.

A crawler may report a problem because of:

• Temporary server errors

• Rate limiting

• Network problems

• Redirect behavior

• Access restrictions

• Timeout issues

Visit the destination and investigate.

For an important URL, check it more than once if the error appears temporary.

The goal is to fix genuine problems rather than reacting to every transient error.

Step 5: Decide What the Correct Fix Is

There are several ways to fix a broken link.

Option 1: Update the Link

If the destination has moved, replace the old URL with the correct current URL.

Example:

Old:

/seo-checklist

New:

/seo-audit-checklist-2026

Update the internal links that still point to the old page.

Option 2: Add a Relevant Redirect

If a page has permanently moved to a new URL, a permanent redirect can be appropriate.

For example:

/old-seo-guide

→

/seo-guide-2026

This allows users requesting the old URL to reach the new destination.

Google's site-migration guidance recommends mapping old URLs to new URLs and updating internal links during URL changes.

However, don't redirect every deleted page to the homepage.

A redirect should make sense for the original URL.

Option 3: Remove the Link

Sometimes the best solution is to remove the link.

For example, imagine an old blog post says:

Download our 2022 SEO checklist.

If the checklist is no longer available and there is no suitable replacement, keeping the link doesn't help users.

Remove it or rewrite the section with useful current information.

Option 4: Replace It With a Better Resource

Sometimes a broken external resource can be replaced with something more useful.

For example:

Old:

example.com/old-seo-study

New:

A current, authoritative resource that covers the same subject.

The replacement should serve the reader's original intent.

What Are Redirect Chains?

A redirect chain occurs when one URL redirects to another URL, which then redirects to another URL.

For example:

/old-page

→ /page-2025

→ /page-2026

→ /current-page

This creates unnecessary steps.

A cleaner structure is:

/old-page

→ /current-page

You should also update internal links so that they point directly to the current destination where practical.

This keeps your website architecture cleaner and reduces unnecessary navigation steps.

What Are Orphan Pages?

An orphan page is a page that exists but has little or no internal linking pointing toward it from other pages on the website.

For example, suppose you publish:

/blog/technical-seo-guide

but no other page on your website links to it.

A visitor may only reach it through a direct URL or search engine result.

This creates a discoverability problem.

Internal linking is useful because it helps users navigate related information and helps search engines understand relationships between pages.

A strong internal-linking structure might look like:

SEO Guide

↓

Technical SEO

↓

Core Web Vitals

↓

Website Performance

↓

Website Audit

Instead of publishing isolated articles, build connected topic clusters.

How Internal Links Can Help You Prevent Broken-Link Problems

Internal linking shouldn't only happen when you publish a new article.

Review your existing links regularly.

For example, if you publish a new guide about technical SEO, look for older articles that discuss:

• Website audits

• SEO problems

• Website performance

• Indexing

• SEO scores

• Search visibility

Where the new article genuinely helps the reader, add an internal link.

AuditWebAI already has several related resources that can form a useful SEO content cluster, including its guides on how to perform an SEO audit, how to check a website SEO score, Core Web Vitals, why a website may not be ranking on Google, and how to improve website SEO.

These links should be placed only where they genuinely help the reader continue researching the topic.

How Often Should You Check for Broken Links?

There is no universal requirement to run a broken-link check every day.

Your schedule should depend on how frequently your website changes.

Small website

A monthly or quarterly review may be reasonable.

Active blog

Check more frequently, especially as the number of published pages grows.

E-commerce or large website

A more systematic automated monitoring process can be valuable.

After a website migration

Run a comprehensive crawl immediately after launch.

After changing URL structures

Check redirects and internal links.

After deleting content

Search for pages that linked to the deleted URL.

A useful rule is:

Run a broken-link audit whenever you make significant structural changes to your website.

Broken Link Audit Checklist

Use this checklist when reviewing your website.

Technical Checklist

• Crawl important pages

• Find internal 404 links

• Find external broken links

• Check 5xx responses

• Review redirects

• Identify redirect chains

• Check HTTPS URLs

• Check canonical destinations

• Review sitemap URLs

• Check recently changed URLs

Content Checklist

• Replace outdated resources

• Remove irrelevant links

• Update old blog links

• Check downloadable resources

• Review important landing pages

• Update old URLs after migrations

• Check external references

Internal Linking Checklist

• Important pages have internal links

• Related blog posts are connected

• Anchor text describes the destination

• Links point directly to current URLs

• Deleted pages don't leave important links behind

• New content is connected to older relevant content

Common Broken-Link Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Redirecting Everything to the Homepage

A homepage redirect may technically send the visitor somewhere, but it doesn't necessarily satisfy the original intent.

If /technical-seo-guide has moved to /technical-seo-guide-2026, redirect to the relevant new guide instead.

Mistake 2: Removing Links Without Checking Their Purpose

A broken link may reveal an important missing resource.

Before deleting it, ask:

What was this link supposed to help the reader do?

You may discover that the page needs a replacement rather than simply removing the link.

Mistake 3: Fixing the Link but Ignoring the Content

Suppose a blog post contains:

Learn more about website SEO.

The destination works, but the linked page is outdated.

The link technically isn't broken, but the user experience can still be poor.

Link maintenance should therefore include content relevance, not just HTTP status codes.

Mistake 4: Ignoring External Links

External links can become outdated even when your own website hasn't changed.

Review important external references periodically.

Mistake 5: Chasing a Perfect Audit Score

A website audit should help you make useful improvements.

Don't spend hours fixing low-impact warnings while an important page is returning a server error or isn't accessible.

Prioritize issues based on:

Impact × Importance × Effort

Fix problems that matter most first.

How to Prevent Broken Links in the Future

Prevention is easier than repeatedly repairing a growing website.

Keep a URL Change Process

Whenever you change a page URL:

1. Record the old URL.

2. Record the new URL.

3. Create an appropriate redirect if necessary.

4. Update internal links.

5. Check external references where practical.

6. Test the old and new URLs.

7. Monitor Search Console afterward.

Be Careful When Deleting Pages

Before deleting a page, ask:

• Does another page link to it?

• Does it receive organic traffic?

• Does it have valuable backlinks?

• Is there a newer replacement?

• Should the URL redirect somewhere relevant?

• Should the content be updated instead?

Deleting a page should be a deliberate decision, not simply a database action.

How AuditWebAI Can Help

Manually checking every website URL becomes increasingly difficult as a website grows.

An automated website audit can provide a faster starting point by checking multiple areas of website health and highlighting issues that deserve attention.

With AuditWebAI, you can run a website audit and review SEO, UX, accessibility, and performance-related findings in one report.

Instead of asking:

"Is something wrong with my website?"

you can start with:

"Which website issues should I fix first?"

If you're maintaining a website and want a quick health check before doing a deeper manual review, you can run a free website audit with AuditWebAI.

The goal isn't to chase a perfect score. The goal is to find real problems and turn them into practical improvements.

A Simple Monthly Broken-Link Workflow

If you want a repeatable process, use this five-step routine:

Week 1: Crawl

Run a website crawl and export broken URLs.

Week 2: Prioritize

Separate:

• Critical links

• Important internal links

• External links

• Low-priority issues

Week 3: Fix

Update URLs, add appropriate redirects, replace useful resources, and remove irrelevant links.

Week 4: Verify

Run another check and confirm that the problems were actually resolved.

Then repeat.

This turns broken-link maintenance from an emergency task into normal website maintenance.

Final Takeaway

Broken links are not something website owners should panic about, but they are worth maintaining.

A healthy website should make it easy for visitors to move from one useful page to another.

When a URL changes, update the internal links.

When a page permanently moves, use an appropriate redirect.

When a resource disappears, replace it with something genuinely useful or remove the link.

And when your website grows, use automated auditing to find problems that are difficult to discover manually.

The best broken-link strategy isn't simply:

"Get to zero errors."

It's:

"Make sure important pages are accessible, useful, connected, and easy to navigate."

That approach benefits visitors first—and gives you a cleaner technical foundation for SEO.

FAQs

What is a broken link?

A broken link is a hyperlink that does not take the visitor to the intended destination. The destination may return a 404 error, server error, unexpected redirect, or another unsuccessful response.

Do broken links hurt SEO?

A broken link is not automatically a Google ranking penalty. However, widespread broken links can create poor user experiences and make website navigation and maintenance more difficult. Important broken internal links should be investigated and fixed.

How do I find broken links on my website?

You can manually test important pages, use a website crawler, and review relevant information in Google Search Console. Automated crawling is generally more practical as a website grows.

Should I redirect a 404 page?

Not every 404 needs a redirect. If the page has permanently moved to a relevant replacement, a redirect can make sense. If there is no useful replacement, allowing the old URL to return an appropriate 404 may be better than sending visitors to an unrelated page.

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

A broken link describes a link that doesn't successfully take the visitor to the intended content. A 404 is an HTTP response indicating that the requested resource was not found. A broken link can point to a URL returning a 404.

How often should I check broken links?

There is no universal schedule. A small website might check periodically, while an active or large website can benefit from more frequent automated monitoring. Always check after major URL changes, redesigns, migrations, or content deletions.

Are broken external links a problem?

They can be. If an external resource no longer exists, visitors may encounter an error. Review the destination and replace the link with a relevant resource when one is available.

How can I prevent broken links after changing a URL?

Before changing a URL, identify pages linking to the old address. After the change, create an appropriate redirect when necessary, update internal links, and verify the new URL.

Should I remove all 404 pages from my website?

No. A 404 response can be appropriate when a requested page genuinely does not exist and there is no relevant replacement. The important issue is whether valuable website paths unnecessarily lead users to missing pages.

Conclusion

Broken-link management is a small part of technical SEO, but it is also basic website maintenance.

A good process is simple:

Crawl → Identify → Prioritize → Fix → Verify → Monitor

Do this consistently, especially after website migrations, URL changes, and large content updates.

A cleaner internal-link structure also makes it easier for visitors to discover your content and helps create a more understandable website architecture.