FamilySearch Wiki:How to fix Dead Links

= General Instructions for fixing pages with dead links =


 * Pages with dead links
 * Problem: The articles in this report contain one (or many) broken or dead external links.
 * Why fix: A patron can become very frustrated going to a link they think might have the answer they're looking for only to find it is dead or no longer exists.
 * Steps to resolve:
 * Go to the Pages with dead links report.
 * Click on an article to work on.
 * Find the text [dead link] in the article. The link just before this text is the problem link.
 * Double check to make sure the link is really a bad link. (It might give a 404 Error, or tell you the page doesn't exist.) Sometimes websites are down temporarily, and the dead link could have been reported during such a time, but is now up again.
 * Review the text around the link to find out where the link really should go.
 * Research to see if you can find a replacement for the bad link.
 * If you find one, replace the bad link with the correct link. If you can't, remove the link. See the Help links below if you're not sure how to add or remove links.
 * Remove the dead link template from after the link.
 * Note: As of January 2011, there are hundreds of links that need to be changed from the old FS Catalog search page to the new FS Catalog search page. They are similar to dead links problems but can be found here and need the FHL template added: Pages with broken links
 * Help links:
 * About linking in the Wiki
 * Adding links
 * Advanced linking


 * How this problem is reported: Add the template directly after the bad external link. (External links are those that go to web pages outside of the Wiki.)