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Broken link scanning

The broken links table

Filter a project's broken links, read each column, exclude false alarms and export the list as a CSV file for your team or your developer.

3 min read

The Broken links page lists every problem link from the latest scan of a project. By the end of this page you will know how to filter the list, read each column and export it.

Open the table

  1. Open the project from the Projects page.
  2. Click Broken links in the sidebar.

The line under the heading tells you when the latest scan ran. Click Run scan for fresh results.

Filter the list

The chips above the table filter the rows. Each chip shows how many rows it holds.

  • All shows every row.
  • 404 shows links that answered 404 or 410. The page is gone.
  • Needs check shows links that timed out or gave no answer. These are warnings, not broken links.
  • Errors shows everything else: 5xx answers, other 4xx answers, DNS and SSL failures, and soft 404 pages.
  • Internal shows links between your own pages.
  • External shows links to other websites.

Blocked links never show here. That covers links to LinkedIn and links that answered 403 or 429. How links are classified explains why.

When Needs check rows are on screen, a note appears above the table. These links are probably fine. Open one with Visit ↗, and if the page loads, click Exclude.

Read each column

  • Broken URL is the address the link points to. Click it to copy it.
  • Status is the answer the server gave, such as 404. Without a number you see No answer, Timed out, No DNS, SSL error or Error. Hover over the label for a short explanation.
  • Found on is the page that holds the link. Click the path to open that page.
  • Anchor text is the clickable text of the link. Image links show "(image)".
  • Type reads Internal or External.

Act on a row

The Actions column has four buttons:

  • AI prompt copies a ready-made prompt for an AI chat assistant. It names the page, the broken URL, the anchor text and the status.
  • Copy copies the broken URL.
  • Visit ↗ opens the broken URL in a new tab.
  • Exclude keeps the link out of future scans.

Exclude a false alarm

Click Exclude on a row to add a pattern to the project's exclusions.

  • For an external link, the pattern covers the whole domain. Every link to that site drops out.
  • For an internal link, the pattern covers that exact path.

The exclusion applies from the next scan. The current results stay as they are. Edit or remove the pattern later under Scan settings.

Export the list

Click Export CSV to download the table. The file name holds your domain and the date. The file has six columns: Broken URL, Status, Failure, Anchor text, Found on and Type.

The export covers the latest scan and leaves out blocked links. The button appears only when the latest scan found broken links.

  • Click Fix these with AI to get a replacement for each link. See Fix broken links with AI.
  • On WordPress, the plugin edits, unlinks or redirects links right in wp-admin. The link under the table opens the WordPress tab.
How links are classified Which answers make a link broken, a warning or blocked, how redirects and soft 404 pages count, and why a 403 or 429 never counts as broken. Scan settings Set up a project's scans. Exclude URL patterns, decide how URL parameters count, check images and documents, and turn on the weekly scan. Fix broken links with AI Get a checked replacement or a recommendation to unlink for every broken link, then apply the fixes in WordPress or hand the prompt to your developer.