Editorial preflight
Check citations and internal references on a newly published guide before promotion.
Links and URLs tool
Broken Link Checker
Check one public page for dead links. Review up to 20 unique HTTP or HTTPS destinations, with observed errors, redirects, and unavailable checks reported separately.
FreeNo loginNo data stored
Page maintenance
Separate confirmed dead destinations from temporary or automation-blocked responses.
Migration verification
Find links that still return errors or rely on avoidable redirect chains after a move.
What it checks
Use the result as evidence, not a score.
- HTTP and HTTPS link destinations in one page’s initial HTML
- Up to 20 unique destinations with four concurrent guarded requests
- Final status after bounded redirects
- Confirmed 4xx/5xx, redirected, unavailable, and successful classifications
What it cannot check
- Every link across the full website
- Whether a blocked or timed-out external destination is truly broken for visitors
- Client-rendered links, authenticated destinations, geographic variants, rankings, or crawl history
How it works
Input, inspect, improve, verify.
The tool processes what you enter, shows a plain-language result, and gives you a safer next step. Make the change on your website, deploy it, then test the live page again.
Understand the result
How to use this dead links checker
Enter the source page in Public page URL and select Check page links. The tool extracts HTTP and HTTPS links from its initial HTML, removes duplicate destinations and URL fragments for response checks, and tests up to 20 unique destinations. It can check both internal and outbound links in that sample.
Read Unique destinations found and Destinations checked before interpreting the totals. A Bounded one-page sample notice means some discovered destinations were not checked; those unchecked links have no implied passing result. View example runs the Overhyped homepage, and Clear resets the URL and result.
- This is a one-page sample, not a crawl of the whole website.
- JavaScript-only and authenticated links may fall outside the check.
- The tool does not accept a bulk URL list or sitemap as its input.
Understand the result
Read the broken link report before replacing a destination
The Checked link destinations table shows the source anchor, destination, observed response, and classification. An observed 4xx or 5xx response is classified as broken by this tool. A successful redirect is reported separately; request failures and bounded redirect failures can be unavailable.
The classification describes this automated request, not every visitor’s experience. In particular, an observed 403 or 429 can reflect filtering or rate limits rather than a permanently missing page. Inspect the response, try the destination in a normal browser, and retry when appropriate before deleting a useful citation.
- 404 and 410 are useful missing-resource clues; 5xx points to server or upstream trouble.
- A timeout alone does not prove the destination is dead.
- A successful redirect may still deserve an update to the source link.
Understand the result
How to fix broken internal links after a page check
For a confirmed missing internal destination, correct a mistyped source URL, restore the page if it should exist, or link to a relevant replacement. Preserve descriptive anchor text and the reason the link was included. Review shared templates when the same incorrect destination appears repeatedly.
For an outbound reference, verify an equivalent authoritative replacement before changing it. After the edit, publish the source page, run the check again, and open the destination to confirm it serves the intended content. This checker diagnoses responses; it does not edit links, create redirects, or guarantee search gains.
- Prioritize navigation, useful references, and important user journeys.
- Keep deliberate redirects and restrictions unless a change is justified.
- Use a controlled full-site crawl when a 20-destination page sample is insufficient.
Popular use cases
Useful before and after publishing.
Editorial preflight
Check citations and internal references on a newly published guide before promotion.
Page maintenance
Separate confirmed dead destinations from temporary or automation-blocked responses.
Migration verification
Find links that still return errors or rely on avoidable redirect chains after a move.
Pro tips
Small checks that prevent avoidable mistakes.
- Fix confirmed errors first, then re-check unavailable external links manually.
- Update internal links to their final canonical destination when a redirect is no longer needed in page markup.
- Do not remove a useful citation merely because its server blocks automated requests.
- Use a real site crawl when page-level sampling is not enough.
Common issues and solutions
What to review when the result looks wrong.
An external link is unavailable
Open it manually and retry later before removing it. Bot blocking, rate limits, TLS problems, and temporary outages are different from a confirmed 404.
The page contains more than 20 destinations
The tool reports that the sample was capped. Use a controlled crawl or test priority links in smaller groups.
A link redirects successfully
The destination is not broken. Review whether updating the source link would reduce unnecessary hops or preserve intentional tracking and migration behavior.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers before you make a change.
Can I use this as an outbound link checker?
Yes. The bounded sample can include internal and external HTTP or HTTPS destinations from the source page. It checks at most 20 unique destinations in a run.
Does a broken link report mean every visitor sees an error?
No. The report records the automated request. Observed 403 or 429 responses can reflect filtering or rate limits; verify them before removing a link.
Will the dead links checker repair my links?
No. It performs read-only checks. Edit the source page or responsible template separately, publish the change, then verify the destination again.
Does the checker crawl the whole website?
No. It extracts links from one public page and checks at most 20 unique destinations during each run.
Is a timeout a broken link?
Not by itself. Timeouts and blocked requests are reported as unavailable because they do not prove what a normal visitor receives.
Why are redirecting links not marked broken?
A successful redirect still reaches a destination. The tool reports it separately so you can decide whether the source URL should be updated.
Read the practical guide
Broken link versus unavailable response
Understand the evidence behind this tool, where its result stops, and the safer next steps to verify on a live page.
Read the guideEvidence · Limitations · Verification