Linkrot - what is it? One definition (from marketingterms.com) is:
Linkrot: When Web pages previously accessible at a particular URL are no longer reachable at that URL due to movement or deletion of the pages.
Web sites are updated, links are changed, and pages are eliminated. This is a fact of life on the web. However, when people can't find what they're looking for because of these changes, you have a problem with your web site. You've been there - you know how frustrating it is to click on a link and instead get the 'this page has been moved' or 'that page no longer exists' or the ever-popular '404 error'. Don't put your users through the same.
There are a a few simple rules to follow to avoid linkrot on your site:
These rules might seem rather strict and prohibitive - they are. It's the only sure way to avoid the problem. However, life is never that easy. There are valid reasons for changing URLs (web site growth, inaccurate information, new content management system software), so if you must change URLs, remove old pages, or move your site...
How? Run link validation on your site on a regular basis.
Link validation software allows you to quickly check your site for broken, missing or dead links, images, etc. Most of these packages provide a clear, HTML-version report which makes correcting the problems relatively painless.
There are a number of tools and services available to help you check for linkrot:
Rev: sab 09.03