Tools: Link Checker

Checking your site for broken hyperlinks

BSDIS automatically checks your site for broken links on a regular basis then reports the results to you.

Manually checking your website's hyperlinks is tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone...and thus rarely done; however links do break -- due to typos, site address changes, etc. -- so links should be checked regularly. As an alternative, BSDIS-hosted site owners can check a private, online report that will show exactly which links are broken, on which pages. You can then focus your time on making any corrections you need to.

FAQ

How can I see my report?

Browse to http://linkchecker.bsd.uchicago.edu/YOURSITENAME where YOURSITENAME is the first part of your website address (e.g. the site name for http://example.bsd.uchicago.edu is example). You will be taken to a secure site where you enter your BSD user ID and password.

How often are the reports updated?

Currently, the reports update nightly.

How do I use this report?

The start page is an overview of the last check. If there are problems you will see one or two links to more detailed pages. You may see "Bad links cross referenced" or "Bad anchors cross referenced" -- click for details.

What is a bad anchor?

An anchor is an invisible marker within the body of a webpage that serves as a target for a link, which allows links to point at specific sections of a page, not just the top of the page. A bad anchor means that the target page itself was missing or the target anchor was missing.

Is there any part of my site that won't be checked?

Yes. The link checker cannot see password-protected areas of your site. Also, it will honor any robots.txt instructions.

Who can see my report?

Only the people who can edit the website.

I have a question about my broken link report that is not answered by this FAQ. What do I do?

You can email BSD Web Services.