Broken Links Checker

What is the Broken Links Checker?

The Broken Links Checker takes a list of URLs, or the links pulled from a page, and tests each one from your browser to flag the ones that no longer respond. Dead links waste crawl budget, leak link equity to 404 pages and make a site look abandoned; finding them by hand across hundreds of pages is tedious, and this tool does the first pass in seconds. Results are listed with a status so you can fix, redirect or remove each one.

How to use it

1. Paste one URL per line, or paste a page’s HTML and the tool extracts every href for you.
2. Click Check. Each link is requested and marked as responding or failed.
3. Review the failed list. Open each in a new tab to confirm, because some servers deliberately block automated requests.
4. Fix the link, set up a 301 redirect on your side, or remove it. Export the list if you need to hand it to someone else.

What the browser can and cannot see

Because the check runs from your browser rather than a server, other sites’ cross-origin rules limit what can be read. A link that resolves is reported as working; a link that times out or is refused is reported as failed. What the tool cannot always distinguish is a genuine 404 from a server that returns a page but blocks browser scripts from reading it. Treat the failed list as a shortlist to verify, not a final verdict. For a definitive server-side crawl of a whole site, and for the redirect strategy once you have the list, read how to find and fix broken links on your website, and stop them coming back.

Why broken links matter

• Users hit a dead end and leave; every 404 is a lost conversion or a lost read.
• Search engines waste crawl budget on dead URLs and cannot pass link equity through them.
• Trust drops when a page cites sources that no longer exist.
• Internal links that break after a redesign are the most common cause of ranking drops after a migration.

How to stop them coming back

• Never delete a page without a 301 to its closest replacement.
• Keep slugs stable; change titles freely, but leave the URL alone.
• Run a check after every redesign, plugin change or bulk import.
• Watch the 404 report in Google Search Console monthly.

Related tools

Check what a URL actually returns with the HTTP Header Checker, list every page you want crawled with the XML Sitemap Generator, and run a broader page check with the SEO Site Analyzer.

Frequently asked questions

Does it crawl my whole site?

No. It checks the URLs you give it. Paste a sitemap’s URLs or a page’s HTML to cover a lot of links at once.

Why does a working link show as failed?

Some servers block requests from browsers on other domains. Open the link manually to confirm before removing it.

Is there a limit?

No fixed limit, but very long lists are checked in batches so the browser stays responsive.

Is anything stored?

No. The list stays in your browser and is gone when you close the tab.