This article refers to a process used on sites that have already been migrated to the New WMS.
If your site has not yet migrated, see the Index of documentation for the McGill Web Management System.
OVERVIEW
Target audience: Site Administrators, Site Managers
What this is: This article explains how to use the Broken links report in the New Web Management System (WMS) to identify, review, and fix links that are not working as expected.
The WMS includes a link checker that automatically scans your website content for broken links. It checks both published and unpublished content and produces a report showing which links are working and which need attention.
The link checker runs approximately every two to four weeks.
As a site administrator or site manager, your goal is to:
- Review links that are broken or failing
- Identify where those links appear on the site
- Update or remove problematic links in the relevant content
In this article:
How to use the broken links report (available to site administrators and site managers only)
1. Open the report
- Log in to your website.
- In site administration menu (top left), click Reports > Broken links.
- You will see a table listing all the links that have been checked (published and unpublished).
2. Focus on links marked as errors
- At the top of the table, set the Result filter to Failed.
- Click Apply.
- The table will refresh to show only links that require attention.
- Review the status code, which indicates what happened when the link checker tried to access the link. The error explains that response. Common status codes include:
- 301 / 302 – The link redirects to another location
- 403 – Access is forbidden (often a permissions issue)
- 404 – Page not found (very common broken link)
- 500 – Server error at the destination site
Note:
You should prioritize links with a 4xx or 5xx status code (e.e., 404, 403, 500 etc.)
3. Identify where the broken link appears
Use the Found here column to locate the content item that contains the broken link.
This column shows:
- The Entity where the link appears, such as a page or block
- The Field you need to edit, such as Body or Block link
4. Fix the link in the content
- Click the link to the Entity.
- Locate the Field.
- Update the URL so it points to the correct destination, or remove the link if it is no longer needed.
- Save your changes.
5. Re-check links
After fixing content, the link checker will re-scan links during its next scheduled run and update the report.
Understand the report columns
URL
The URL column shows the exact web address the link checker tested.
The URL may point to:
- An internal link (another page on your site)
- An external link (to another website)
If a link is broken, this is the URL you need to replace or correct.
How to use it: Confirm that the link in the URL column is spelled correctly and/or that the destination still exists.
Last checked
This column reflects when the link checker scans your site’s content, which is every two to four weeks.
It shows the date and time when the link checker last tested the URL. The date and time will help you understand how up-to-date your information is.
Status code
This column shows the HTTP response code returned when the link checker tried to access the URL.
Most common status codes:
- 200 - The link is working normally
- 301/302 - The link redirects to another location
- 403 - Access is forbidden (often permission issue)
- 404 - Page not found (very common broken link)
- 500 - Server error at the destination site
For full list of all status codes and their definition, you can visit Wikipedia's List of HTTP status codes.
How to use it: Review any links with status codes other than 200, and prioritize 404 and 500 errors.
Error
This column gives a human-readable explanation of what went wrong.
Examples include:
- "Page not found"
- "Access denied"
- "Connection timed out"
How to use it: Use the message together with the status code to understand whether the issue is a broken destination, a permissions problem, or a temporary connection issue.
Handle redirects and 301 results
- If a link points to a redirect rather than the final destination (e.g., https://mcgill.ca/itsupport/ instead of https://mcgill.service-now.com/itportal), the report may show a 301 Moved Permanently result. This is expected behaviour. Whenever possible, replace redirect links with the direct destination URL.
- For links to other WMS sites that resolve correctly but still appear as 301 Moved Permanently, add a trailing slash (/) at the end of the URL. Example: https://www.mcgill.ca/it/
