A broken link is a link on your website that leads nowhere - typically a 404 "Page Not Found" error. They happen when pages are deleted, URLs are changed without redirects, or external sites you've linked to go offline.
For charity websites, broken links are surprisingly common. Sites that have been running for several years often have dozens of them, accumulated silently as content was reorganised, donated pages were removed, or partner organisations changed their URLs.
Why Broken Links Matter for SEO
Broken links harm your site in two distinct ways:
They waste Google's crawl budget
Google sends bots to crawl your website and discover new content. Every time a bot follows a broken link and hits a dead end, that's a wasted crawl. On large sites with many broken links, this can mean Google never reaches some of your important pages at all.
They pass "link equity" into a black hole
When another website links to one of your pages, it passes ranking authority (often called "link equity" or "link juice") to that page. If the page that link points to no longer exists, that authority disappears - instead of benefiting your site, it's wasted.
They hurt user trust
A potential donor who clicks a link and lands on a 404 page is likely to leave your site entirely. On a charity website, every lost visitor is a potential lost donation, volunteer, or supporter.
How to Find Broken Links on Your Charity Website
The fastest way is to use a dedicated broken link checker. Our free tool scans any page on your site and returns a full list of every link, its status code, and whether it's broken, redirecting, or working correctly.
Free Broken Link Finder
Scan any page for broken links, redirects and errors - up to 100 links, no login required.
Run the tool on your homepage first, then your main navigation pages. These are the pages with the most internal links, so finding and fixing broken links there will have the biggest impact.
Understanding the Status Codes
When you scan your links, you'll see HTTP status codes next to each one. Here's what the most common ones mean:
- 200 OK - the link works correctly. No action needed.
- 301 Moved Permanently - the URL has permanently moved to a new address. The link works but is redirecting. Update the link to point directly to the final destination.
- 302 Found (Temporary Redirect) - a temporary redirect. If the redirect has been in place for a long time, it's usually worth updating the link.
- 404 Not Found - the page doesn't exist. This is a broken link and needs fixing.
- 500 Server Error - the server encountered an error. This needs investigating with your hosting provider.
How to Fix Broken Links
Once you've identified your broken links, you have three options depending on where the broken link points:
Option 1: Update the link
If the page has moved to a new URL (either on your own site or on an external site), update the link to point to the new URL. This is the cleanest fix.
Option 2: Remove the link
If the linked page no longer exists and there's no suitable replacement, remove the link entirely. Don't leave a broken link in place just because removing it feels like extra work.
Option 3: Set up a redirect
If the broken link points to a page on your own site that you've deleted or moved, and you can't update every link pointing to it, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the most relevant existing page. This is done in your .htaccess file (for Apache servers) or your CMS's redirect settings.
For WordPress users: The free Redirection plugin makes setting up 301 redirects straightforward and keeps a log of all your redirects in one place.
How Often Should You Check for Broken Links?
For most charity websites, a quarterly check is sufficient. Set a reminder to run the broken link finder on your key pages every three months - it takes less than five minutes and catches problems before they accumulate.
If you're about to launch a new site, migrate to a new CMS, or do a significant content reorganisation, run a check immediately before and after to catch anything that breaks in the process.
Don't Forget to Check Your Redirects
Redirect chains - where one redirect points to another redirect, which points to another - slow down your site and dilute link equity. Use the redirect checker to make sure your redirects are clean and direct.
Free Redirect Checker
Trace the full redirect chain for any URL and spot loops and chains instantly.