Broken Links – Root Causes and Solutions
The proliferation of broken links on the internet can be seen to result from a number of causes, the most common of which include:
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Poorly Maintained Websites – There are billions of websites on the internet but not all of them have the resources of Google or Facebook. As such, there are a substantial number of websites that are poorly maintained which is the biggest cause of broken links on websites.
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Changing Architecture of a Website – If there are too many alterations to the layout and structure of a website then it can impact upon links; often causing them to break.
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Website Closures – Websites close down every day and all the other websites out there that link to them will experience broken links as a result.
Links And The Importance Of Ensuring That They're Not Broken
The use of hyperlinks within a website is a very important part of the structure. It facilitates the navigation around a website and also provides additional information from external sites. In order to look professional, it is important to maintain your website and ensure that it doesn't have numerous broken links throughout it. This is why most major companies rely on professional web designers and developers to maintain their websites.
Broken Links – The Effect On Search Rankings
The key reason to ensure that site isn't filled with broken links is from a search ranking perspective. A broken link has the capacity to stop a search spider in its tracks and make it difficult for your site to be indexed to its full potential. From a usability perspective, broken links make a website very unlikely to function properly and if it's one thing one know about internet consumers, it's that they won't stick around if the website isn't performing as they would want. This is why broken links may mean broken business. Professional web developers have many tools which they can implement against the scourge of broken links and this is why most companies see them as key to a fully functioning website.