A website can look perfectly fine on the surface while quietly losing visitors, search visibility, and potential customers because of broken links, 404 errors, and outdated content.
These problems are common on websites that have been online for several years. Pages get deleted, URLs change, products are removed, services are updated, and old content is forgotten. Without regular maintenance, these small issues can gradually create a poor experience for both users and search engines. The good news is that most of these problems can be identified and fixed before they become serious.
What Are Broken Links?
A broken link is a link that points to a page or resource that no longer exists or cannot be accessed. For example, a website may contain a link to:
example.com/old-service/
If that page has been deleted or its URL has changed, visitors may receive a 404 error instead of the information they expected.
Broken links can occur because of:
- Deleted pages
- Changed URLs
- Website redesigns
- Incorrect internal links
- Expired products or services
- External websites removing pages
- Incorrectly entered URLs
- Changes to website structure
A few broken links may seem harmless, but a website with hundreds of them can create a noticeably worse user experience.
What Is a 404 Error?
A 404 error usually means that the requested page cannot be found on the website.
Visitors might see a message such as:
“404 – Page Not Found”
404 errors are not automatically bad. For example, if someone manually enters an incorrect URL, a 404 response is normal. The problem occurs when your own website repeatedly sends visitors or search engines to URLs that no longer exist.
This can happen after:
- A website migration
- A redesign
- Changing permalink structures
- Removing old pages
- Changing product URLs
- Removing blog posts
- Moving content to new locations
If important pages are generating 404 errors, they should be investigated.
Why Broken Links Matter for Visitors
Imagine a potential customer is reading a service page and clicks “Learn More.” Instead of reaching the expected page, they see a 404 page.
They may:
- Assume the website is not maintained.
- Go back to Google.
- Visit a competitor.
- Leave without making an enquiry.
One broken link might not cost a business a customer every day, but repeated problems across the website can create unnecessary friction. A website should make it easy for visitors to move from one page to another and find the information they need.
Website performance matters for the same reason — a slow page can create friction before visitors even reach the information they are looking for. Learn more about how website speed impacts sales, SEO, and user experience
How Broken Links Can Affect SEO
Broken links don’t automatically mean that Google will penalize a website. However, a large number of broken links can indicate poor website maintenance and create problems with crawling, navigation, and user experience. Search engines need to discover and understand your website’s pages. If internal links consistently point to missing pages, your site’s internal linking structure becomes less effective. This is particularly important after a website redesign or migration, where URL changes can create many broken links at once.
Don’t confuse 404 errors with SEO penalties
A 404 response by itself is not an SEO penalty.
The important question is:
Why does the URL return a 404, and is there a better destination for users and search engines?
If an old page has been permanently replaced by a new equivalent page, a relevant 301 redirect may be appropriate. If the content has genuinely been removed and has no suitable replacement, allowing the old URL to return a 404 can be completely reasonable.
What Is Outdated Content?
Outdated content is information on your website that is no longer accurate, useful, or relevant.
For example:
- Old pricing
- Discontinued services
- Previous company information
- Outdated statistics
- Old screenshots
- Expired offers
- Old contact information
- Previous team members
- Outdated product specifications
- Old software or technology recommendations
A page doesn’t have to be completely wrong to be outdated. Even small changes can make an otherwise useful article less valuable. For example, an article published several years ago about website security may still receive traffic, but some of its recommendations may no longer reflect current best practices.
Why Outdated Content Can Hurt Your Business
Your website is often one of the first places a potential customer goes to evaluate your business. If they discover outdated information, they may question whether the business is actively maintained.
For example, imagine a company website still shows:
“Our latest project – 2022”
while it is now several years later. Or a service page advertises pricing that is no longer available. Or a contact page lists an employee who left the company years ago. These details can reduce trust even when the business itself is operating normally. Your website should represent your business as it exists today—not as it existed several years ago.
If your website no longer accurately reflects your business, its content and design may both need attention. Here are 10 signs your business website needs a redesign, from outdated design and poor mobile experience to declining SEO performance and difficulty updating the site.
Outdated Content Can Also Waste SEO Opportunities
Older content can sometimes have valuable search visibility. Instead of deleting an old article simply because it is several years old, review it first.
You may be able to:
- Update outdated information
- Add newer examples
- Replace old statistics
- Improve the structure
- Add relevant internal links
- Update images
- Improve the title and metadata
- Remove irrelevant sections
- Redirect obsolete pages where appropriate
Updating useful existing content can often be more valuable than continually publishing new pages while ignoring the old ones.
Website Redesigns Are a Common Cause
Website redesigns are one of the biggest sources of broken URLs.
A new website may have:
Old URL:
example.com/services/web-development/
New URL:
example.com/development-services/
If the old URL is removed without a proper redirect, visitors following old links can end up on a 404 page.
The same problem can affect:
- Google search results
- Backlinks
- Bookmarked pages
- Social media posts
- Internal website links
- Email campaigns
This is one example of how decisions made during website development can create additional technical and maintenance costs later. Poor website architecture, URL structures, redirects, and maintenance planning can turn an initially low-cost website into a much more expensive project over time. Learn more about the hidden cost of cheap website development and what businesses really pay.
This is why URL mapping and redirect planning should be part of a website migration—not something done after launch.
Poor URL planning is also a reminder that website development decisions can have consequences long after a site launches. The way a website is structured can affect its SEO, maintenance, scalability, and ability to evolve as the business grows. Learn more about why your business needs a custom website, not a template.
This is why URL mapping and redirect planning should be part of a website migration—not something done after launch.
These are the kinds of technical decisions that benefit from ongoing involvement from a long-term technology partner, rather than treating website development as a one-time project.
How to Find Broken Links
Regular website audits can identify broken links before they become bigger problems. A technical website audit can check:
- Internal links
- External links
- 404 URLs
- Redirect chains
- Redirect loops
- Missing pages
- Broken images
- Incorrect URLs
- Orphaned pages
- Sitemap URLs
- Important landing pages
For larger websites, automated crawling tools can make this process much easier. But finding a broken link is only the first step. The important part is deciding what should happen to that URL.
AI-assisted tools can also help developers analyze website issues, identify patterns, and investigate potential technical problems more efficiently.
The right fix also depends on how the website is built and maintained.
For businesses that need help identifying and resolving these issues, a one-time website audit or technical fix can be a practical option. Learn more about our one-time website services for broken website issues, technical audits, troubleshooting, migrations, and other focused technical tasks.
On WordPress websites with a large number of plugins and third-party dependencies, even a seemingly simple change can become more complicated because multiple components may be involved. Learn more about why too many WordPress plugins can hurt your website and how unnecessary dependencies can affect maintenance, troubleshooting, performance, and security.
How to Fix Broken Links
There isn’t one solution for every broken URL.
1. Correct the link
If the destination page still exists but the link is incorrect, simply update the link.
2. Create a relevant 301 redirect
If an old page has been permanently replaced by a relevant new page, redirecting the old URL can help visitors reach the correct destination.\
3. Restore the missing page
If a valuable page was accidentally deleted, restoring it may be the best solution.
4. Remove the link
If the destination is no longer relevant and there is no suitable replacement, remove the link rather than sending visitors somewhere unrelated.
5. Keep the 404 when appropriate
Not every deleted URL needs a redirect. If there is genuinely no relevant replacement, a properly handled 404 can be the correct response.
Don’t Redirect Everything to the Homepage
A common mistake is redirecting every old URL to the homepage.
For example:
example.com/old-blog-post/
→
example.com/
This may technically prevent a 404, but it doesn’t necessarily provide a useful experience. A redirect should ideally send visitors to the most relevant replacement page.
If there is no relevant replacement, keeping the 404 may be better than sending users somewhere unrelated.
Create a Useful 404 Page
Even with good maintenance, visitors can occasionally reach a missing URL. That’s why a useful 404 page matters.
Instead of displaying only:
“404 – Page Not Found”
consider providing:
- A clear explanation
- A link to the homepage
- Search functionality
- Popular pages
- Main services
- Contact information
- Helpful navigation
A good 404 page gives visitors a way to continue rather than simply ending their journey.
How Often Should You Check Your Website?
The ideal frequency depends on the size and complexity of your website. For an active business website, regular technical checks can help identify problems early.
The ideal frequency depends on the size and complexity of your website. For an active business website, regular technical checks can help identify problems early.
Regular maintenance is important because broken links, outdated content, security issues, performance problems, and broken website features can gradually accumulate when a website is left unattended. Learn more about what happens when you don’t maintain your website and why ongoing maintenance matters.
These checks are much easier to manage when maintenance requirements are considered during the initial development of the website. If you’re planning a new website, see our guide on website development for startups and what you actually need.
A maintenance process can include:
A maintenance process can include:
Monthly
- Broken-link checks
- Security updates
- Plugin/theme checks
- Basic performance monitoring
- Important form testing
Quarterly
- Content review
- Outdated page review
- Redirect review
- Internal linking review
- Important landing-page checks
After major changes
Always perform additional checks after:
- Website redesigns
- Domain changes
- Hosting migrations
- Plugin replacements
- Permalink changes
- Major content restructuring
Website Maintenance Is More Than Updates
Website maintenance isn’t simply installing WordPress, plugin, and theme updates. A properly maintained website should also be checked from a visitor’s perspective.
Can users find the right pages?
Do important links work?
Are contact forms working?
Are old pages still relevant?
Are redirects configured correctly?
Are there unnecessary 404 errors?
Does the website still accurately represent the business?
These checks help keep a website useful, trustworthy, and technically healthy over time.
A Simple Website Maintenance Checklist
Use this checklist when reviewing your website:
- Check for broken internal links
- Review important 404 errors
- Check redirects
- Look for redirect chains
- Review outdated pages
- Update old statistics and information
- Remove discontinued offers
- Check contact details
- Review old team information
- Check important forms
- Review internal links
- Check sitemap URLs
- Review high-traffic landing pages
- Test the website after major updates
Final Thoughts
Broken links, 404 errors, and outdated content may look like minor website issues, but they can gradually affect the way visitors experience your business. A website doesn’t stay healthy simply because it was built correctly. Businesses change. Services change. URLs change. Technology changes. Content becomes outdated. Regular website maintenance helps ensure that your website continues to work properly and accurately represents your business.
The goal isn’t to eliminate every 404 on the internet. The goal is to make sure visitors and search engines can reliably find the content that matters. If your website hasn’t had a technical and content review recently, it may be worth checking what has changed—and what has been left behind.
