Link Checker Tool
A page can contain links that look fine in the browser but lead to missing pages, restricted destinations or URLs that now redirect somewhere unexpected. It can also contain external links with `nofollow`, `sponsored` or `ugc` attributes that are easy to miss when reviewing a page by eye.
Use the Wild Creek Link Checker to inspect one public page at a time. It fetches the page, finds eligible HTTP and HTTPS links, resolves relative URLs, removes duplicate destinations and checks up to 30 unique links in one request.
What the results show
For each checked link, the table shows the destination URL, anchor text, whether the link is internal or external, its link-level rel attributes, the status classification and the HTTP response code when one is available.
The status labels need a little interpretation:
- OK means the destination returned a successful response or a redirect.
- Broken is reserved for 404 Not Found and 410 Gone responses, which are strong signals that the destination is no longer available.
- Restricted covers responses such as 401, 403 and 429. These pages may work for a normal visitor while blocking automated requests, so they should not be treated as confirmed broken links.
- Needs review covers other HTTP errors that need context.
- Could not verify means the request failed before the tool could get a reliable status code.
The tool also reports whether a link has `nofollow`, `sponsored` or `ugc`. A link without those attributes is shown as Followable. This describes the link-level `rel` value only. It does not attempt to infer page-level robots rules or search-engine treatment.
Why the checker limits each request
A single page can contain hundreds or even thousands of links. Checking every destination would allow one public request to trigger a large number of outbound requests from the Wild Creek server. The tool therefore checks the first 30 unique HTTP or HTTPS destinations it finds and tells you when the page contains more.
This makes the tool useful for a page-level review without turning it into an unrestricted crawler.
When to use it
Run the checker when reviewing an important landing page, refreshing an older article, checking links after a migration, auditing outbound references or investigating a page with a poor user experience. For a full website crawl, use a dedicated crawler that can manage queues, crawl limits and retries across many pages.
What the tool does not check
The checker does not crawl an entire website. It does not follow links to discover more pages, test JavaScript-generated navigation that is absent from the returned HTML, or guarantee that a restricted destination is unavailable to a human visitor.
It also does not store the submitted URL or the results as part of the plugin’s normal operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a 403 link shown as Restricted instead of Broken?
A 403 response means the server refused the automated request. The page may still load for a normal browser, a logged-in visitor or a request that passes the destination site’s security rules. Treat it as something to review rather than a confirmed dead link.
Does a 301 or 302 redirect count as broken?
No. Redirects are shown as OK because the destination responded. You may still want to review redirects if the final destination has changed or if a page contains long redirect chains.
What does Followable mean?
It means the anchor does not contain a `nofollow`, `sponsored` or `ugc` rel token. The tool uses Followable rather than “dofollow” because `dofollow` is not an HTML rel value.
Why are only 30 links checked?
The limit protects the website running the tool from a single visitor triggering hundreds of outbound HTTP requests. The summary tells you when more unique links were found than the checker processed.
Can I check a private staging site or intranet page?
No. The URL fetch uses WordPress safe HTTP functions and accepts public HTTP or HTTPS URLs. Private-network and otherwise unsafe destinations are rejected.
Why can a link show “Could not verify” even when it works for me?
The destination may time out, reject automated requests, block the server’s network, require cookies or behave differently for HEAD requests. Review uncertain results manually before changing a link.