How to Check if Your Website Has Broken Links: Complete Guide 2026

Broken links are silent killers. They frustrate your visitors, waste Google's crawl budget, and steadily erode your search rankings. Yet most website owners have no idea how many broken links lurk in their site until it's too late.

If you've never checked your website for broken links — or if it's been more than a month since your last audit — this guide will show you exactly how to find every broken link on your site and fix them before they damage your SEO.

Why Checking for Broken Links Matters

Before diving into the how-to, let's understand the stakes. Broken links don't just create poor user experience — they actively harm your website's performance:

Lost rankings: Google penalizes sites with excessive broken links
Wasted crawl budget: Search engines spend time crawling dead pages instead of your valuable content
Decreased user trust: Visitors lose confidence in sites that feel abandoned or poorly maintained
Lost link equity: External backlinks pointing to 404 pages provide zero SEO value

A single broken link might seem harmless, but they compound quickly. What starts as a few missing pages can snowball into hundreds of dead links after a site redesign or CMS update.

Manual Methods to Check for Broken Links

1. Basic Browser Testing

The simplest way to check website broken links is manual clicking. Start with your main navigation and work through key pages:

Click every link in your navigation menu
Test footer links and sidebar elements
Follow internal links from your most important content
Check contact forms and download links

This method works for small sites (under 50 pages) but becomes impractical for larger websites. You'll miss links buried deep in content, and external links can break after you've checked them.

2. Browser Developer Tools

Chrome DevTools can help identify broken resources:

Open Chrome DevTools (F12)
Go to the Network tab
Reload your page
Look for red entries (failed requests)

This catches broken images, scripts, and stylesheets but won't find broken hyperlinks in your content.

3. Google Search Console

Your Search Console account reveals some broken link issues:

Coverage reports show pages returning 404 errors
Internal linking reports highlight orphaned pages
Manual action notifications warn of excessive broken links

However, Search Console only shows issues Google has discovered. It won't catch all broken links, especially new ones or links on pages that aren't crawled frequently.

Automated Tools to Find Broken Links on Website

Manual checking has limitations. For comprehensive broken link detection, you need automated tools that can crawl your entire site systematically.

Free Broken Link Checkers

W3C Link Checker

Web-based tool that checks single pages
Free and reliable
Limited to one page at a time
Good for spot-checking specific pages

Broken Link Checker Browser Extension

Chrome extension that scans current page
Highlights broken links visually
Fast for individual page analysis
Doesn't provide site-wide reports

Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free)

Desktop application that crawls up to 500 URLs
Comprehensive broken link detection
Exports detailed reports
Free version sufficient for small sites

Professional Broken Link Analysis Tools

Leo Scanner

Comprehensive website scanner designed for agencies and businesses
Scans entire websites automatically
Detailed broken link reports with priority levels
Monitors external link health over time
Integrates broken link checking with overall SEO auditing

Ahrefs Site Audit

Part of Ahrefs' SEO toolkit
Crawls large websites efficiently
Identifies internal and external broken links
Provides link equity loss calculations

Semrush Site Audit

Comprehensive technical SEO auditing
Broken link detection with impact scoring
Regular monitoring and alerts
Integrates with other SEO metrics

Step-by-Step Process to Check Website Broken Links

Here's a systematic approach to audit your entire site for broken links:

Step 1: Choose Your Tool

For most websites, start with Leo Scanner for comprehensive analysis. It provides detailed reports without the technical complexity of enterprise tools.

Step 2: Run a Full Site Crawl

Enter your website URL
Configure crawl settings (include/exclude specific sections)
Start the scan and wait for completion
Review the comprehensive broken link report

Step 3: Analyze the Results

Broken link reports typically show:

URL of the broken link
Page where the broken link appears
HTTP status code (404, 500, etc.)
Link type (internal vs external)

Focus on high-impact broken links first: those on important pages or pointing to valuable content.

Step 4: Prioritize Fixes

Not all broken links need immediate attention. Prioritize based on:

Internal links on high-traffic pages — fix immediately
Links from pages with external backlinks — high SEO impact
Navigation and menu links — affects user experience
External links to dead sites — update or remove

Step 5: Fix the Links

For internal broken links:

Update the URL if the page moved
Create 301 redirects for deleted pages
Remove links to permanently deleted content

For external broken links:

Find an alternative working URL
Use the Wayback Machine to find archived versions
Remove the link if no alternative exists

Advanced Broken Link Detection Techniques

Monitor External Link Health

External sites change constantly. Set up regular monitoring to catch when external links break:

Use tools that check link status over time
Set up alerts for newly broken external links
Review and update external links quarterly

Check After Major Changes

Always audit for broken links after:

Website redesigns or migrations
CMS updates or theme changes
Large content reorganization
Domain changes or URL structure modifications

Set Up Ongoing Monitoring

Don't make broken link checking a one-time task. Establish a routine:

Monthly scans for active websites
Quarterly deep audits for larger sites
Immediate checks after any structural changes

Preventing Future Broken Links

The best broken link strategy is prevention:

Use relative URLs for internal links when possible
Test all links before publishing new content
Create 301 redirects before deleting any pages
Keep an archive of old content rather than deleting
Monitor external link health regularly

Common Broken Link Scenarios

Site Migration Disasters Moving to a new CMS or changing URL structure creates hundreds of broken links overnight. Always plan redirect mapping before migration.

Content Management Problems Editors delete pages without considering incoming links. Establish policies for content removal that include redirect setup.

External Link Decay External sites change, merge, or disappear. Regular monitoring catches these before they accumulate.

Take Action Today

Broken links are one of the easiest SEO problems to fix, yet they cause disproportionate damage when ignored. Don't let dead links silently sabotage your search rankings and user experience.

Ready to find every broken link on your website? Try Leo Scanner's comprehensive website audit tool — scan your entire site in minutes and get a detailed report showing exactly which links need fixing, prioritized by impact. Start your free scan today and stop losing rankings to broken links.

Remember: a well-maintained website signals quality and trustworthiness to both search engines and visitors. Taking 15 minutes today to check for broken links could save you months of lost rankings and frustrated users tomorrow.