Find broken links across your WordPress site
Link Checker Pro uses an external service to crawl a WordPress website and identify dead links. It checks both internal and external URLs, so the destination does not need to belong to the same website. The crawler visits site pages like a normal visitor, while the website itself handles less of the computation.
The plugin works with WordPress plugins out of the box and lists broken links and redirects found during a crawl. It also supports Polylang sites and probably WPML sites, according to the feature information. The crawler respects the website’s robots.txt file, including the crawl-delay directive, and its user-agent can be controlled with MB-LinkChecker.
Pro checking features
- Internal and external image checks: identify embedded images that are broken.
- YouTube video checks: check whether embedded YouTube videos are available.
- Scheduled checks: automatically check a website once a day.
- Email summary reports: receive a summary of the scheduled check by email.
- CSV export: export the results for review, filtering, or sharing.
- Form login support: check protected pages such as membership areas.
- Saved results: results are stored on the Link Checker server and can be fetched multiple times without requiring another check.
Practical website maintenance workflow
Run a crawl when reviewing a new site, cleaning up an established website, or checking content after a major update. The resulting list can show broken links and redirects that need attention. Image and YouTube checks extend the review beyond ordinary hyperlinks, while form login support helps include protected content in sites with membership areas.
For recurring maintenance, the daily scheduler can perform a check automatically and send a summary by email. Since the results can be exported as a CSV file, you can use them in a spreadsheet-based review process or provide a structured list to the person responsible for content updates. Saved results can also be retrieved again from different users or browsers without starting another crawl.
External crawler details
Link Checker Pro communicates with an external server operated by the plugin developer. The website sends its URL and the fact that it is using WordPress. The external server then crawls the website and returns a list of broken links. A hosting provider may block the crawler, which can prevent the service from accessing the site.
Installation and requirements
Install the Link Checker plugin in WordPress, open its settings, and configure a crawl for the site you want to review. For protected content, provide the form login details required by the relevant pages. If desired, enable the daily scheduler and email summary, then use the results list or CSV export for follow-up work.
The stated technical requirements are WordPress 4.7 or newer and PHP 5.6 or newer. Before running checks, confirm that the hosting environment allows the external crawler to access the website and that the site’s robots.txt rules permit the intended crawl.
