How to Check Your WordPress Site for Broken Links

Damaged connections can be a nuisance for internet users everywhere, and as your WordPress site begins to expand, you’ll inevitably encounter a few faulty links that redirect your visitors to the dreaded 404 error page. Unfortunately, manually inspecting all of your text, image, and video links, especially on larger websites, can quickly become time-consuming. However, by utilizing a popular plugin like Broken Link Checker, you can automate this process entirely. Doing so will ensure that your WordPress website is always in top working order, and for the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using this plugin.

1. In your administrator dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for the plugin called “Broken Link Checker” and click “Install Now”. Click “OK” to download and install the plugin, and remember to activate it once the installation is complete.
2. A new submenu titled “Link Checker” will appear in the Settings page, accessible from the left sidebar in your administrator dashboard. Navigate to the Link Checker submenu to open the options page for the plugin.
3. By default, Broken Link Checker will scan every link on your website every 72 hours. You can modify this setting by entering the desired value in the box next to “Check each link”.
4. When the plugin discovers a faulty link, you will be able to locate the problematic link by visiting this page. However, using the email notifications supported by the program will likely prove more efficient. In that case, you will need to provide an email address in the provided box.
5. It is also advisable to modify the server load limit in order to ensure that your website continues to run smoothly, especially when the plugin is checking for faulty links during periods of high server load. To access this setting, click on the “Advanced” tab and enter a value for the server load. A recommended value for most servers is 64.
6. Another useful setting on the Advanced page is the Timeout setting. If a link takes longer than the specified number of seconds to load, the plugin will consider it to be faulty. The default value is 30 seconds, but you may want to decrease it to ensure that your links only lead to fast and reliable pages.
7. You can also utilize the Forced Recheck option on the Advanced page to have the plugin clear its current database and check your website from scratch. This can be beneficial if you have recently made major changes or added a significant amount of content to your WordPress site.