Fixing Broken Links

In order to fix a broken link, you have to know something about that link. There are basically three ways to fix a broken link:

1. change the link
2. remove the link from your web page
3. leave the link alone, and fix the target of the link (or have someone else fix it)

If you have a broken link, and...

...you figure out that the URL of the page you're linking to has changed, then the simplest way to fix it is to also change your link (#1 above).

...you figure out that the page you're linking to no longer exists or the web site is now gone, then the simplest way to fix it is to remove the link from your page (#2 above).

...you figure out that the page you're linking to is one of your own pages and you accidentally deleted it, then the simplest way to fix it is to publish the page again (#3 above).

...you figure out that the page you're linking to is on another site, and you contact that site owner who then tells you that they accidentally deleted the page and will be putting it back soon, then do nothing and check your link report the next day (#3 above).

So, you just need to look at each situation on an individual basis and handle it according to what you find out.

When looking at a broken link e-mail, some common errors on remote links are:

• could not connect to host
• could not find IP address
• timed out connecting to host
• timed out waiting for data

Each of the errors listed above could mean that the web site you're linking to is simply down. Or maybe it's fine now, but it was down while the link checker was running. You'll need to do a bit of investigation to see if this is a permanent situation or not. Of course if the web site no longer exists, you should remove your link to that site.

Other common errors include:

• internal server error (500): This means that something's wrong on the the remote site's web server. If the web site owner does not fix the problem within a couple of days, you might want to contact them to find out what's up; maybe they don't even know there's a problem. And if it persists for longer than a few days, you should remove the link from your page.
• access forbidden (403): This means that you're linking to a remote page that requires a login. This is typically not a good idea, since not everyone can use the link. It's better to link to the home page of the site, then the visitor can click a link from there to login.
• not found (404): This is a classic missing page error. The web site is fine but the page simply does not exist. Maybe the web site owner removed it or renamed it. Or maybe you just spelled it wrong in your link. Do a bit of investigation to determine if you should change your link, or just remove it altogether.

If you still need help fixing your broken links, just reply to the broken links report e-mail that you receive.