After weeks of comparing schedules and two cancellations, my best friend and I were finally going to have dinner at the new vegan cafe downtown. I plugged the address into my GPS, and off we went, following the directions exactly, only to be disappointed by the sign on the restaurant door that read "Closed for repairs." I was so frustrated - all that planning and rescheduling, only to reach a dead end.
Users who encounter broken links can also experience disappointment and frustration. Following each link, they get closer to the information they are looking for, only to reach a roadblock caused by a broken link.
In this post, we'll explore the consequences of broken links and provide actionable strategies for fixing and preventing them.
Why Do Links Break?
Links can break for several reasons. The most common reason is the resource being linked to has been moved or deleted from its original location.
For example, your organization has a policy of moving all PDFs older than five years to an archive section on your web server. That could be hundreds of PDFs with hundreds of corresponding links to update. Missing a few would be easy.
Links can also break when the page URL changes due to a change in the website's structure. Let's say your organization redesigns the website's academic section and reorganizes the website architecture, changing the URL structure from "university.edu/biology" to "university.edu/department/biology."
Also, if your organization uses third-party plugins like social media share buttons, the link can break if the third party doesn't maintain up-to-date code.
What Are the Effects of Broken Links?
- Accessibility Issues:
- Broken links, empty links, and suspicious or non-discernible link text can confuse screen reader users.
- Broken skip links require keyboard-only users to tab through the entire top navigation before reaching relevant content.
- For keyboard-only users, broken anchor or "jump" links could get them "stuck" in an area of the page without a mechanism to get them where they came from.
- Broken links can cause possible legal implications and non-compliance with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
- User Experience:
- Broken links increase user frustration, leading to higher bounce rates.
- Broken links disrupt the user journey and cause the user to be unable to access desired information.
- Broken links give users a negative perception of your website's quality and your organization’s brand.
- SEO:
- Broken links make it difficult for search engines to index your website.
- Broken links can diminish the value of a page or domain.
- Broken links lower search rankings due to poor user experience signals.
- Lost Opportunities:
- Broken links can lead to missed conversions and potential customers.
- Broken links reduce lead generation and user engagement.
Identifying and Repairing Broken Links
Automated accessibility checkers are essential for identifying broken links and saving developers and content managers significant time and money. Manually checking each link on a large website can be tedious and error-prone. Automated checkers crawl entire websites, quickly identifying broken links and providing detailed reports.
Take DubBot, for example. The Broken Links panel details the asset or resources the link is pointing to; in this example, that is "https://dubbot.com/sampe-broken-link," the location of the link itself (noted by the orange box around the word "colleges"). Then DubBot provides the reason for the broken link - in this case, it is an "HTTP_404" error - in addition to the Element Location in the code and Element Source code, all three highlighted in the red boxes.
Repairing the Links
- Correct any typos and update outdated URLs.
- Replacing broken links with relevant alternatives.
- Do not fix broken links by linking them to your home page.
- Remove broken links if no suitable replacement content exists.
- If a page has been moved or deleted, implement appropriate 301 redirects.
Link Management Strategies
- Use well-designed error pages.
- Use relative URLs instead of absolute URLs whenever possible.
- Make sure your web server returns the proper status code for a broken link.
- Monitor your website's analytics, tracking metrics such as bounce rate, session duration, and conversion rates to identify areas that may be affected by broken links.
- Use an automated accessibility checking tool like DubBot and set up a regular scanning cadence.
Finally, remember communication and collaboration. Maintaining a website free of broken links (and other accessibility and usability issues) requires a team effort.
Encourage your team members to actively report any broken links they encounter, fostering a sense of shared responsibility. Establish standard policies and procedures for content updates to ensure consistency and accountability among your content managers, and train them on link development and best practices for link management.
By prioritizing these strategies, you can ensure your website is a reliable resource for all users.
