Using the link checker
To check the links on your site
- Run the link checker (it may take a minute to check all links, depending on size of your site).
- The results are displayed alongside each page. Hover over each number and you will see that:
- The 1st number displayed represents the 'valid (unbroken) links' on the page
- The 2nd number displayed represents the 'broken links' on the page
- The 3rd number displayed represents the 'valid, but redirected' links
- Click on [details] for a listing of the broken links and check them against the web page in your browser to get an idea of which you need to fix.
- Go back to 'Manage pages' and click on edit to fix each links
Understanding the [details] page
Page results
HTTP is the transport protocol behind the World Wide Web – it’s the way that communication is done between your browser and the web site. HTTP comprises of a number of response codes to represent anything from the site being OK or not, to the server having problems.
Email address results
When the link checker performs a check against an email address, it does so in two different ways:
- Email address format
you may not have the correct structure to the email address, which is usually comprised of <person to send to>@<domain>. For example, webteam@sussex.ac.uk. - MX Record
The MX record checks that the domain you enter is valid and accessible. For example, sussex.ac.uk is a valid domain but susssex.ac.uk is not.
The Link checker will simply respond as ‘address seems bad’ if anything is wrong.