How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide with Code Examples and Resources

Broken links can be a frustrating issue for WordPress website owners. Not only do they lead to a poor user experience, but they can also harm your website’s SEO ranking. In this tutorial, we will guide you through how to identify and fix broken links in WordPress, with code examples and resources.

Use a Broken Link Checker Plugin

Identifying Broken Links One of the first steps in fixing broken links is identifying them. You can do this manually by clicking on each link on your website, or you can use a broken link checker tool. There are several plugins available that can check your WordPress website for broken links and notify you if any are found. Some popular options include Broken Link Checker and W3C Link Checker.

Check Your .htaccess File

If you are getting a 404 error, this may be due to a problem with your .htaccess file. To fix this, try replacing the file with the default WordPress .htaccess file, which can be found in the WordPress Codex.

Redirecting Broken Links In some cases, you may not want to simply remove a broken link, as it may still be valuable to your website visitors. In this case, you can use a 301 redirect to redirect the broken link to a relevant page on your website. To implement this, you can use the Redirection plugin or add the following code to your .htaccess file:

Redirect 301 /old-page.html http://www.yoursite.com/new-page/

Check Permalinks

If you are still experiencing broken links after checking your .htaccess file, try changing your permalink structure. Go to Settings > Permalinks, select the Default option and then save changes. Then select your preferred permalink structure and save changes again.

Remove Any Bad Plugins

If you have recently installed any plugins that may have caused the broken links, try deactivating or removing the plugins.

Try a Database Repair

If the above solutions do not work, try repairing your database. You can do this by using a plugin such as WP-DBManager or by adding the following code to your wp-config.php file:

define( 'WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true );

After adding the code, go to https://your-site.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php and click on the Repair Database button.

Monitor broken links

Monitoring Broken Links To prevent broken links from affecting your website in the future, it’s important to regularly monitor your website for broken links. You can use the tools mentioned in step 1, or set up automated monitoring to alert you of any broken links.

Fixing broken links in WordPress is an important part of maintaining a healthy and user-friendly website. By using the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can identify, update, redirect, and monitor broken links to ensure your website visitors have a seamless experience.