Crawvix

Find Broken Internal Links and Redirects Across Your Website

Crawvix Editorial Team · Published October 28, 2026 · Last updated October 27, 2026 · 2 min read

Illustration of a link graph from a page through a menu to a link whose target is broken.

Broken internal links frustrate visitors and hinder navigation. A useful site-wide audit finds the originating link, intended destination and shared template responsible for the failure.

Before you begin

You will need access to the website or account involved, a list of important public URLs, and permission to make the relevant changes. Save a backup of configuration before editing DNS, server rules, source code or search settings. A successful check means the specified condition was verified—not that Google or Bing will index or rank the page.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Crawl approved public pages

Use a crawler with reasonable limits and read all in-scope anchor links from public pages. Record source URL, link text, destination and status.

What success looks like: Every reported failure has a source page.

Step 2: Group by shared origin

Separate links in global navigation, footers, card templates and individual articles. One bad shared template can cause thousands of apparent duplicate findings.

What success looks like: You identify the root cause, not just the failing count.

Step 3: Classify each destination

Determine whether the linked route was removed, renamed, redirected or temporarily failing. For external links, distinguish access blocks from genuine 404s.

What success looks like: Each issue has a reliable resolution category.

Change internal anchors to the correct canonical URL, restore expected routes where needed and remove links with no replacement. Keep contextual anchor text understandable.

What success looks like: Users reach the intended content directly.

Step 5: Test the entire navigation

Re-crawl changed templates, follow mobile menus and check related-content blocks. Monitor after deployments that alter routes or slugs.

What success looks like: No broken internal links remain in the tested scope.

Final verification checklist

  • Every reported failure has a source page.

  • You identify the root cause, not just the failing count.

  • Each issue has a reliable resolution category.

  • Users reach the intended content directly.

  • No broken internal links remain in the tested scope.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Fixing redirects without updating hundreds of hardcoded links.

  • Assuming external 403 always means a broken page.

  • Ignoring shared footer or header links.

Frequently asked questions

Prioritize links that affect important user journeys and high-value pages.

Not by default; private areas require separate authorized testing and security safeguards.

Official references

Next step: See how Crawvix checks a website and capture a baseline once scanning opens. This guide provides technical information, not a guarantee of rankings, 100-point Lighthouse scores or index inclusion.

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