Auditing a Large Site Without Missing Pages
Big sites hide their broken links well. Here is how to audit thoroughly at scale.
Scale hides problems
On a site with thousands of pages, broken links are easy to overlook simply because there are too many pages to check by eye. Thoroughness has to come from a systematic crawl, not manual attention.
Reach every corner
A complete audit needs to reach deep pages, not just the ones linked from the homepage. Ensuring the crawl covers the full depth of the site is what prevents whole sections from being silently skipped.
Find orphaned pages
Large sites accumulate orphaned pages that nothing links to. These are invisible to a normal crawl, so it is worth cross checking against a full list of pages to make sure none are stranded.
Prioritize the fixes
A big site produces a big report. Sorting the findings by page importance and traffic turns an overwhelming list into a focused plan you can actually work through.
- Scale makes broken links easy to miss
- Ensure the crawl reaches deep, not just top pages
- Cross check to find orphaned pages
- Prioritize a large report by page importance
Julien Jimenez
Julien Jimenez is an independent software builder based in Paris. He designs, ships, and operates focused SaaS products for small businesses and independent professionals. Read the full author page.
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