After a scan, the Results page lists every link that needs a look. This guide explains the statuses, the filters, and the buttons in each row, so you know which links to fix first.
What You’ll Learn
- What Broken, Warning, and Redirect mean
- How to filter by status and by type
- What the columns show
- What each row button does
The Statuses
- Broken – the address answered with an error (such as 404 Not Found or 410 Gone), the server failed (5xx), the domain does not exist, or it redirected too many times or in a loop. Fix these first.
- Warning – the address could not be checked properly: the website blocked the request or limited how many it allows (401, 403, 429), the connection timed out, or the secure connection failed. These links often work in a browser, so check them by hand. In Pro, a warning can also say the page looks like a soft 404, or that a file loads over http.
- Redirect – the address moves to another one permanently (301 or 308). The link still works, but it is worth pointing it straight to the new address. Temporary redirects are not listed.
OK links are not shown, and Dismissed links are kept in their own filter.
Filters
The row at the top filters by status: All issues, Broken, Warnings, Redirects, Dismissed, and in Pro Soft 404 and Mixed content. Each shows how many links it holds. The second row filters by type: All types, Links, Images, and in Pro Stylesheets and scripts and Iframes, video and audio. The results are shown 20 to a page.
Columns
- URL – the address, with where it ended up after redirects underneath
- Status – the status, the response code, and the reason when there is one
- Found on – the pages that use it, linked to the page. A link printed by your theme, a menu, or a widget shows as Homepage, theme or widgets
- Actions – the buttons below
Row Buttons
- Edit URL – type a new address and click Save: every post that uses the link is updated at once. It starts with the address the link redirects to, when there is one.
- Unlink – removes the link and keeps its text. It only works on links, not images or files.
- Recheck – checks the address again right away, after you have fixed the other side.
- Dismiss – hides the link from the results for good, until you clear the results.
- Redirect and Find archived copy are Pro buttons: see Redirecting a broken link to a new page and Replacing a dead link with a web archive copy.
Edit URL and Unlink change the content of your posts, so make a backup first.
This is available in Broken Link Fixer Free and Broken Link Fixer Pro.