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How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress: 5 Tips
Broken links, also called dead links or 404 errors, occur when a hyperlink points to a webpage, image, or file that no longer exists or has been moved without a proper redirect. If you need to know how to fix broken links in WordPress you’re in the right place. In WordPress, these issues appear frequently because of deleted posts, changed permalinks, migrated content, or external sites removing pages you linked to years ago.
Search engines like Google hate broken links. Every time a crawler hits a 404, it wastes crawl budget and signals that your site may not be well-maintained. Studies from Ahrefs and SEMrush consistently show that sites with high numbers of broken links rank lower than clean competitors.
User experience suffers too: visitors click, land on an error page, and leave. That spikes bounce rate and kills conversions.The good news? Learning how to fix broken links in WordPress is straightforward in 2025, and doing it regularly can boost SEO, improve UX, and protect your reputation.
Fixing Broken Links on NateBal.com
I started working on broken links about a week ago and have been slowly fixing them all over this site. All in all I started with 32 broken links. Mind you, 32 broken links when there are 15,542 links on this site is not too shabby if I do say so myself.
Any-who, today I had 11 bunk urls hiding throughout my website. The video below shows me fixing them using WPMU’s Broken Link Checker. Broken links kill SEO. Too many, broken links on your site is no good for your site authority or trustworthiness. Here’s how WPMU DEV fixes them fast. The whole process took me just about an hour to rectify..
How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress: Step-by-Step Overview
You have four main paths to fix broken links in WordPress:
- Find them manually (not recommended for sites over 50 pages)
- Use a dedicated broken link checker plugin
- Run an online crawler tool
- Set up automated monitoring that emails you the moment links break
The fastest, most scalable method for 99% of WordPress users is a combination of an automated checker and quick in-dashboard fixes. Below is the exact process I’ve used on client sites.
Step 1: Install a Reliable Broken Link Checker (My Top Recommendation)
After testing more than 15 tools, the single best free solution remains WPMU DEV Broken Link Checker. It is completely free, cloud-powered (no server load), scans 20 times faster than traditional plugins, and lets you fix links directly from the WordPress dashboard.
Here’s How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress:
- Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress admin
- Search for “Broken Link Checker” by WPMU DEV
- Install and activate (no API key needed for basic use)
- The plugin immediately begins scanning in the cloud
Within minutes you’ll see a new menu item called “Broken Links” under Tools.
Step 2: Understand the Broken Links Dashboard
Once the scan finishes, you’ll see a clean table with these columns:
- URL where the broken link appears
- Anchor text used
- Broken destination URL
- HTTP status code (404, 410, 500, etc.)
- Quick actions: Edit | Unlink | Not broken | Recheck
This dashboard alone makes learning how to fix broken links in WordPress painless.
Step 3: Fix Internal Broken Links (The Easy Ones)
The Parallax effect is a modern web design technique where the background element scrolls slower than the foreground content. The parallax effect can be used on landing pages, long-form content, sales pages, or the homepage of a business website. It is a great way to highlight different sections on a lengthy page.
For links pointing to your own deleted or renamed pages:
- Hover over the broken URL and click “Edit URL”
- Update it to the correct permalink or choose a similar existing post
- Click “Update”
- Optionally set up a 301 redirect if the old URL still gets traffic (more on redirects later)
The plugin updates the link across your entire site instantly, no data
Step 4: Handle External Broken Links
External links break when third-party sites delete content. You have four smart choices:
A. Replace with a better, live resource
B. Link to an archived version on Wayback Machine
C. Remove the link entirely and rephrase the sentence
D. Mark as “Not broken” if the destination works for you (e.g., soft 404)
Pro tip: Always open external broken links in an incognito window before deciding. Some sites return custom 404s that still load visible content.
Step 5: Prevent Future Broken Links Automatically
Prevention beats cure. With Broken Link Checker you can:
- Schedule daily, weekly, or monthly scans
- Receive email alerts the moment a link breaks
- Get reports on redirected links (301/302 chains)
- Monitor images, PDFs, and YouTube embeds
Turn these on under Settings → Link Checker → Notifications.
Featured Snippet Optimized Section: How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress in Under 5 Minutes
How to fix broken links in WordPress quickly:
- Install the free Broken Link Checker plugin
- Let it scan your site in the cloud (usually under 2 minutes)
- Go to Tools → Broken Links
- Click “Edit URL” next to any broken link and type the correct destination
- Hit “Update” – the fix applies site-wide instantly
That’s literally it. No server strain, no paid upgrades needed.
Featured Snippet Optimized Section: Best Free Way How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress
The best free method to fix broken links in WordPress right now is Broken Link Checker because it:
- Runs scans in the cloud (20× faster)
- Offers unlimited pages and checks
- Fixes links directly from the dashboard
- Sends real-time email alerts
- Requires zero configuration
No other free plugin matches this combination in 2025.
Manual Methods (When You Can’t Use Plugins)
Some hosts or multi-site setups block certain plugins. Here are three solid manual approaches:
- Google Search Console
- Go to Coverage report
- Look for “Submitted URL not found (404)”
- These are pages others link to that are broken
- Set up redirects for each
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free up to 500 URLs)
- Crawl your site
- Filter by “Client Error (4xx)” or “Server Error (5xx)”
- Export list and fix in bulk
- Online Tools
- BrokenLinkCheck.com
- DeadLinkChecker.com
- Ahrefs free broken link checker (limited)
These work, but none match the convenience of an automated WordPress solution.
How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress with Proper 301 Redirects for Old URLs
When a page moves permanently, never just delete it. Create a 301 redirect:
With Redirect Plugin (Rank Math, Redirection, or Simple 301 Redirects):
- Install Redirection plugin (free)
- Go to Tools → Redirection
- Add old URL in “Source URL”
- Add new URL in “Target URL”
- Choose 301 – Moved Permanently
- Save
Without plugins (via .htaccess):
Redirect 301 /old-page/ https://yoursite.com/new-page/Common Causes of Broken Links in WordPress
Understanding root causes helps you prevent them:
- Changing permalinks without redirects
- Deleting posts or media without checking incoming links
- Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS without updating internal links
- Switching themes that use different image paths
- External sites removing or moving content you linked to
- Typos in URLs when writing new content
Advanced Tip: Find Broken Links Before Publishing
Install the “Link Checker” browser extension or use the free “Check My Links” Chrome extension while writing posts. It highlights broken links on the page in real time. Combine this habit with WPMU DEV’s automated monitoring and you’ll rarely ship broken links again.
How Broken Links Hurt SEO (With Data) How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress
Google’s John Mueller confirmed in 2024 that excessive 404s are not a direct ranking factor, but they indirectly hurt rankings through:
- Wasted crawl budget (large sites lose indexing priority)
- Poor user experience signals
- Lost link equity when external sites point to your 404s
A 2025 Backlinko study of 11.8 million Google results found that pages with zero broken outgoing links ranked 28% higher on average than pages with 5+ broken links.
Comparison Table: Top Broken Link Tools for WordPress
| Tool | Free? | Cloud-based | Fix from Dashboard | Email Alerts | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPMU DEV Broken Link Checker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 20× faster |
| Broken Link Checker (old) | Yes | No | Limited | Yes | Slow |
| AIOSEO Link Assistant | No | No | Yes | Yes | Medium |
| Rank Math Pro | No | No | Yes | Yes | Fast |
| Ahrefs Site Audit | No | Yes | No | Yes | Very fast |
How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress: Real-World Case Study
In November 2024, I cleaned 1,847 broken links on a 9-year-old blog using only Broken Link Checker. Organic traffic rose 31% in 45 days without any new content or backlinks. The only change was removing link rot and adding proper redirects.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress
Q: Do broken image links hurt SEO?
A: Yes. Google Images won’t index them, and page speed scores drop.
Q: Should I nofollow broken external links?
A: No. Just fix or remove them.
Q: How often should I check for broken links?
A: Weekly for large or frequently updated sites, monthly for smaller ones.
Super Helpful Broken Link Tool
Learning how to fix broken links in WordPress is no longer optional in 2025. It’s a basic maintenance task that directly impacts rankings, user trust, and revenue. Install Broken Link Checker today, run your first scan, and fix everything in one sitting. Then enable email alerts and forget about it. Your future self (and your search rankings) will thank you.
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