Broken links are one of the most common launch problems because they sit between teams. Design updates change navigation, developers rename routes, CMS editors remove drafts, and migration maps miss edge cases. By the time users report a 404, the page has already launched with avoidable friction.
A broken link check before launch should cover more than obvious 404s. You also want to understand redirects, blocked pages, noindex pages, and whether important internal paths are reachable within a reasonable crawl depth.
Check internal links first
Internal links affect navigation, crawl discovery, and conversion paths. Start with links on the page itself, then crawl same-site pages when the launch touches templates, navigation, or site architecture.
- Check navigation links.
- Check footer links.
- Check CTA buttons and form-adjacent links.
- Check links inside body copy.
- Check canonical support pages such as privacy, terms, docs, and pricing.
Do not treat every redirect as fine
A redirect may be intentional, but it still deserves review. Long redirect chains slow down crawlers and users. Temporary redirects can signal uncertainty. Redirects to unrelated pages can confuse both visitors and search systems.
Use crawl depth intentionally
A same-site crawl does not need to hit every URL to be useful. For launch QA, it often makes sense to crawl the current section, important linked pages, and high-value paths connected to the launch.
- Use shallow crawls for single page launches.
- Use deeper crawls for migrations or navigation changes.
- Export the crawl when another team owns the fixes.
- Prioritize links by severity and business importance.
Look beyond 404s
A launch link audit should also flag pages that technically load but are wrong for discovery or handoff. A linked page may be noindexed, blocked by robots.txt, redirected to a placeholder, or missing expected metadata.
Broken link launch checklist
- Scan page-level internal links.
- Scan page-level external links.
- Review 4xx and 5xx responses.
- Review redirect chains.
- Check important links for noindex destinations.
- Run a same-site crawl when the launch changes navigation or templates.
- Export CSV or JSON for the team fixing links.
- Retest after fixes, not only before them.