How to fix a broken link: edit, redirect or remove

You've got three options for a broken link: edit it, redirect it, or remove it. Which one is right depends on why it broke.

Edit the link

Use this when the link is on your own site and the page it points to still exists, just at a different address, or you simply typed it wrong.

Open the page that holds the link and change the address to the right one. That's it. It's the cleanest fix because nothing extra is left running behind the scenes.

MDN says the same: if you can avoid a redirect by correcting internal links, fix those links instead.¹

Redirect the old address

Use this when the page has moved and other sites, bookmarks or search results still point to the old address.

Google's advice is to return a 3XX redirect to the new page when a page has moved.² For a permanent move you'd normally use a 301. See 301 vs 302 redirects.

Why bother, if you've fixed your own links? Because you can't fix everyone else's. Links from other sites are out of your hands, as MDN points out.¹

How you set a redirect up depends on your platform. A website builder or content management system may have a screen for it. On other hosting you might edit a server file. Follow your host's own guide, and ask their support if you're unsure.

Remove the link

Use this when the page is gone and nothing replaces it.

A missing page isn't necessarily a problem if it was removed without any replacement.² The problem is a link that still points there. MDN says website owners should remove or replace links that return a 410 Gone code.³

Ask yourself two things. Does the sentence still make sense without the link? Is there a similar page that serves your reader just as well? If so, point to that instead and you've replaced the link rather than just removing it.

Broken links to other sites

These are yours to fix too, even though the page belongs to somebody else. A target page may simply have been removed.⁴

Try these in order:

1. Search for the page title or the topic. The page may have a new address, and you can update your link.
2. Look for a different page that covers the same ground.
3. Check whether a saved copy is available. Wikipedia mentions linking to web archives such as the Internet Archive as one approach.⁴ A saved copy may not match the original, so say that it's an archived copy.
4. Take the link out and adjust the sentence.

A quick guide

Check your work

After each fix, click the link again. Then check the page it sits on for any other links to the same address. The same dead address often turns up in more than one place.

Still hunting for the dead links? Start with the checking guide.