Checking for (and managing) broken links on your HarvardSites site

This guide explains how Site Administrators can identify, fix, and prevent broken or missing links on their HarvardSites Drupal site. Regular link maintenance helps ensure your content remains accurate, accessible, and search-friendly — improving site credibility and user experience.

On this page:

Before you begin

Before checking for or fixing broken links, you should:

  • Have editing access to your HarvardSites site.
  • Have access to Siteimprove (if your School or unit uses it).
  • Have access to the HarvardSites Site Traffic Report (see below to request access).

These recommendations apply to HarvardSites Drupal sites. Schools and units not using HarvardSites should contact their local IT service desk for help and guidance. 

Page-level redirects

A redirect is a feature that sends users and search engines from one URL to a different URL. They are particularly useful when replacing content that may be linked to from other sites. With redirects, those links will remain functional, ensuring visitors reach the correct content even when the original URL has changed.

Use page-level redirects for pages that have been removed, their URL has changed, or the content has moved to a different location. Setting up redirects ensures that both visitors and search engines are directed to the correct content instead of seeing a “page not found” (or 404) page.

Learn how to add or manage site redirects.

Use the Resource content type for sharing files

Broken links often occur when linked files (like PDFs) are renamed, replaced, or updated. The Resource content type is designed to provide an evergreen URL for accessing the file, even if you update the file.

Example:
Instead of linking directly to:

  • mysite.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum1234/files/mysite/files/building-maps-2024.pdf

  • mysite.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum1234/files/mysite/files/building-maps-2025.pdf

Create a Resource page such as:

  • mysite.harvard.edu/building-maps

Then attach your file to that resource. If you ever need to update that file with a new version, (e.g., with building-maps-2025.pdf), the link remains valid and will not break.

Identify inbound traffic resulting in page not found errors using Google Analytics

Harvard Web Publishing can provide site administrators with a pre-configured Site Traffic Report that tracks a variety of metrics, including inbound Page Not Found (404) errors. This report helps you identify broken links that site visitors are trying to reach.

Requesting a Site Traffic Report: Send an email with your site's URL to ithelp@harvard.edu and ask for access to the HarvardSites Site Traffic Report.

Once you have access, you can review which pages or files are generating 404 errors and then create redirects or restore missing content as needed.

Use SiteImprove to identify broken links in your site

Siteimprove is a Harvard-licensed web quality assurance platform used by many Schools and departments. It automatically scans your public HarvardSites site for issues, including broken links, content quality, and accessibility concerns.

Harvard users can request access and use Siteimprove to identify and resolve broken internal links as part of routine site maintenance.

To request access, visit: Harvard IT Help – Request Siteimprove Access

See also: