Broken Links
What are Broken Links ?
Links to pages which no longer exist or have been moved to a different URL without redirection. These links usually serve pages with the “404 error” message (see “404 error”).
Broken link or sometimes call dead link is a link on a web page that no longer works because the website is encountering one or more of the reasons below.
Reasons for broken links
- The destination website permanently moved or no longer exists.
- An improper URL entered for the link by the website owner.
- The destination website removed the linked web page (causing what is known as a 404 error).
- The destination website permanently moved or no longer exists.
- The user has software or is behind a firewall that blocks access to the destination website.
- The website owner linked to a site that is behind a firewall that does not allow outside access (such as an Intranet site or a restricted access area on a website).
Broken links may be problematic for website visitors, making them unable to access the desired resource or information. Users may decide to make use of another site to find the necessary information elsewhere. Site that have not been updated or checked for a long time may suffer from link rot, which is a term used to describe a site with dozens of broken links.
« Back to Glossary Index
By: Vance Moore