A broken link is not always a page that returns an error. It can be a “Request an estimate” button that opens the wrong service, a PDF that contains old prices, or a phone link with an incorrect digit. Combine an automated URL check with a short human review.
Begin with the pages closest to a business outcome: homepage, service pages, contact, checkout where applicable, and frequently shared resources.
Check the destinations customers depend on
Follow primary buttons, menu links, footer links, phone numbers, email links, and download buttons. Use a phone for tap-to-call behavior and verify the displayed number against the destination.
Open downloads rather than assuming a successful response means the file is useful. Check the document title, revision date, and contact details. A perfectly downloadable old brochure can still mislead customers.
Use a crawler to widen the check
If you have a site crawler, use it to list internal error responses and redirects. Limit the crawl to the intended public website and review its settings before starting. For a small site, the sitemap and page inventory can also provide a manageable list.
Treat results as leads to investigate. Some external sites restrict automated requests, and some generated links are not meaningful customer destinations. Verify a suspected failure in context before changing content.
Inspect links that technically work
Read the link text, open its destination, and ask whether the destination delivers what was promised. “See installation instructions” should not lead to a generic product category without explanation.
Check in-page links too. A section heading may have changed while an old anchor remains in an email or table of contents. Test the important anchors after major content edits.
Fix the source as well as the redirect
When an internal page has moved, update the link to its final address instead of depending forever on a chain of redirects. If the content was removed, choose the closest relevant replacement or remove the link with an appropriate explanation.
Use the redirect map when old public addresses still need to serve visitors. Do not replace every missing destination with the homepage merely to make the error count disappear.
Keep a useful issue log
Record the source page, link label, destination, observed problem, owner, and resolution. Prioritize links that block contact, purchases, or access to instructions. Decorative social icons pointing nowhere can follow, but should still be corrected.
Repeat the critical checks after deployment. A fix in source files is not proof that the public site now behaves correctly. Include this audit in the launch checklist and repeat it when services, downloads, or navigation change.