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Broken links and media FAQ

Scanfully crawls your site and reports links and media that answer with a 4xx or 5xx HTTP status code, or that do not answer at all. Broken links send visitors to dead ends and can hurt your search performance; broken media leave holes in your pages or break how they work. This FAQ covers the questions that come up most. For a tour of the screen itself, see Content.

What counts as broken?

Section titled “What counts as broken?”

A link or media file is broken when it answers with a 4xx or 5xx HTTP status code, or does not answer at all. The common ones:

  • 404 Not Found: the page or file no longer exists, or the address has a typo.
  • 410 Gone: the target was removed on purpose.
  • 403 Forbidden: the server refuses the request. Many sites send this to crawlers while the link works in a browser.
  • 429 Too Many Requests: the other site turned the crawler away for asking too often. Scanfully shows this as a warning, not a failure.
  • 500 Internal Server Error and other 5xx codes: the server failed to answer.
  • No response: there was no answer at all. The request timed out, the domain no longer exists, the server refused the connection, or its TLS certificate could not be used. Scanfully tries once more, with more time, before it reports this.

More about these codes in HTTP status codes.

Section titled “Why are links and media in one list?”

Because they are the same problem: a reference on a page that no longer resolves. The Content screen groups every reference by the target it points at. If one deleted image is used on 40 pages, you see one target with 40 references, and you know replacing that image fixes all 40.

Which issues should I fix first?

Section titled “Which issues should I fix first?”
  1. Visible on the page: broken images, video and other files your visitors see failing.
  2. Dead internal links: links to your own pages. You control them, and they waste search engines’ crawl budget.
  3. External rot: links to other sites. These often break for reasons outside your control, but they still frustrate visitors.

Within each group, start with the targets with the most references. The table is sorted that way by default.

Section titled “How do I fix a broken link or media file?”

Open the target on the Content screen and use Edit page next to each page that refers to it. On a WordPress site with the Scanfully plugin, that takes you straight to the editor for that page. Update or remove the link, replace the media, save, and click Re-crawl to confirm. Step by step in Fixing broken links and media.

A few typical cases:

  • The target page was deleted: link to a page that replaces it, or remove the link. A redirect from the old address also works.
  • The address has a typo: correct it.
  • An external site returns 403 or 429: open the link in your browser. If it works, the site blocks crawlers. Add it to Links to ignore in the crawl settings.
  • Your own server returns a 500: check your hosting and WordPress error logs. Something on your site fails to respond.
  • The broken file comes from a theme or plugin: update or replace it there, as the page editor does not contain it.
Section titled “A link works in my browser. Why is it reported?”

Usually because the other site blocks automated requests, by IP address or with bot protection, and answers the crawler with a 403 or 429. Your own firewall can do the same; in that case let Scanfully through with a custom request header, since it has no fixed IP addresses. If the link really works, add it to Links to ignore or Media to ignore in the crawl settings and Scanfully won’t report it again.

Section titled “I fixed a link. Why is it still in the report?”

The report shows what the last crawl found. A fixed link stays listed until the next crawl confirms it works. Click Re-crawl to check straight away: a crawl you ask for loads every page afresh. See Scan timing and manual re-crawls.

Section titled “Which links and pages does Scanfully check?”

It follows links from your home page up to the maximum depth, and checks every page in your sitemap and on your extra pages list. On each of those pages it checks every link, internal and external, and the media types you chose. See How Scanfully detects broken links and What Scanfully does not scan.

What does dofollow mean in the tiles?

Section titled “What does dofollow mean in the tiles?”

The share of broken links without a nofollow, sponsored or ugc rel attribute. Search engines follow these links, so broken dofollow links matter most for SEO.

Can I show the report to a client?

Section titled “Can I show the report to a client?”

Yes. Click Share report on the Content screen to create a public link to the broken links or broken media report. See Share a broken links or media report.

Section titled “Can I get notified about new broken links?”

Yes. New broken links and media can reach you through your account’s notifications. The Tell me when new breakage appears section of the crawl settings shows which notifications cover the site. See Notifications.

Good habits

Section titled “Good habits”
  • Re-crawl after big content changes, a redesign or a migration.
  • Fix internal broken links quickly.
  • Review old content now and then, and remove outdated references.
  • Avoid linking to unstable third-party addresses.