Internet Archive and Automattic launch new tool to combat link rot
The Internet Archive and Automattic launched the Link Fixer WordPress plug-in to address link rot, where URLs become broken, by scanning links, archiving pages via the Wayback Machine, and redirecting users to preserved versions.
The Internet Archive operates as a nonprofit organization focused on archiving the internet to preserve digital content for future generations. Its Wayback Machine indexes the web by capturing widespread snapshots of pages over time. This week, the organization announced a new tool aimed at assisting WordPress users in maintaining the digital health of their articles through automated link preservation.
Automattic, the company responsible for developing WordPress, collaborated with the Wayback Machine on this initiative. The resulting Link Fixer plug-in targets the problem of link rot, defined as the process where online articles accumulate broken links—URLs that previously directed to active pages but now produce error messages or lead to dead ends.
A 2024 study by Pew Research revealed that nearly 40 percent of links existing in 2013 were no longer active. This digital decay affects a wide range of web content, including pages from news outlets, government websites, Wikipedia entries, and tweets.
The plug-in functions by examining WordPress posts for outbound links. It then cross-references these links against the Wayback Machine’s database of archived versions. In cases where no archived version exists, Link Fixer automatically captures new snapshots of the referenced articles to create backups.
When an originally linked web page becomes inaccessible, the plug-in intervenes by redirecting readers to the corresponding archived version stored in the Wayback Machine. This mechanism ensures continuous access without interrupting the user’s reading experience or causing a loss of service.
Beyond external links, the tool also archives the user’s own WordPress posts. This feature contributes to the long-term preservation of the site’s original content, safeguarding it against potential future unavailability.
Link Fixer operates continuously to monitor the status of a page’s links. If a link that previously went offline becomes available again at its original location, the plug-in updates its behavior to redirect users back to that restored original page rather than the archived copy. This dynamic adjustment prioritizes the most current accessible version.
A detailed write-up on GitHub describes the plug-in’s controls as user-friendly and highly customizable. Users can adjust settings such as the frequency of link validity scans. The program sets this interval to every three days by default, allowing site administrators to tailor the process to their specific needs.