Step-by-Step Guide to Manually Finding Broken Links on Your WordPress Site

To manually find broken links on your WordPress site, follow these step-by-step instructions:

1. Prepare Your Site for Manual Checking

   • Make a list of your important pages and posts where links are commonly used.
   • Open each page or post in your WordPress dashboard or on the live site.

2. Check Links One by One

   • Click on each hyperlink to verify if it leads to the intended destination.
   • Look for common broken link signs such as 404 errors, "Page Not Found," or redirects to irrelevant pages.

3. Use Browser Tools

   • Use your browser’s developer tools (usually accessible via F12 or right-click → Inspect) to check the status of links.
   • In the Network tab, you can see HTTP status codes when clicking links (e.g., 404 means broken).

4. Review Link URLs in WordPress Editor

   • In the WordPress post/page editor, switch to the text or HTML view to inspect the actual URLs.
   • Look for typos, outdated URLs, or incomplete links.

5. Document Broken Links

   • Keep a record of all broken links found, noting the page/post where they appear and the problematic URL.

6. Fix or Remove Broken Links

   • Edit the URL to the correct address if available.
   • If the target page no longer exists and no replacement is available, remove the hyperlink but keep the text or delete it entirely.

7. Recheck After Fixes

   • After correcting links, revisit the pages to confirm the fixes work properly.

This manual approach is thorough but time-consuming, especially for large sites. For efficiency, many users prefer automated tools or plugins like Broken Link Checker, which scan and report broken links automatically, allowing quick fixes from a dashboard. However, manual checking is useful for critical pages or when plugins are not an option.

Additional tips:

• Regularly perform manual checks on key pages to catch issues early.
• Combine manual checks with automated scans for best results.
• Keep backups before making bulk changes.

This method ensures you identify and fix broken links without relying on plugins, maintaining your site’s SEO and user experience.