How to Link Sites Without Broken Links
Ever browsing an old website and encountering a 404 error when you clicked on a link to a long-abandoned site? How about finding an old bookmarked article only to find it is now stuck behind a paywall?
These annoying scenarios will become more common as old web content gets removed, migrated, or simply stops working. It’s not just old content – many web pages can be less than a few months old, and social media content often disappears even faster.
Disappearing or corrupted web content creates several problems, including undermining the credibility of an article due to lack of sources. Fortunately, there is a clever workaround that can prevent these annoyances: linking to websites using Archive.org , also known as the Wayback Machine. This ensures that anyone who opens the link will be directed to the content in question as it exists when you link to it.
Archive.org crawls the Internet, backing up billions of websites, such as the DNA of a digital dinosaur, in amber. You can search and link to archived pages through the Archive.org website, but the most effective option is to archive the page yourself. This way, you can create a link to the saved version that will remain active as long as Archive.org is available.
How to find or create Archive.org links
There are several ways to find or create Archive.org links. The most accessible option is to go through web.archive.org . Paste the URL you want to save into the Save Page panel on the Archive.org home page. The archived version will open in a separate tab with the new Wayback Machine URL.
Alternatively, you can use the Archive.org search tool to find the article you are looking for. You can search by keyword, domain name, or even paste the URL into the search box to see if it already exists in the database. Once you find the page, copy the Archive.org URL and use it for your link.
You can also use browser extensions or Archive.org applications.
Archive.org has official Wayback Machine browser extensions for Firefox , Chrome and Safari for PCs or iOS and Android apps on mobile devices. While the main function of the app and browser extension is to detect broken links and automatically redirect users to archived versions of the now defunct page, you can also create links that you can share or embed elsewhere.
The method for saving the page will differ slightly depending on which browser or application you are using, but instructions should be available on the official Wayback Machine add-on pages or on the application pages linked above.
The Brave browser also automatically redirects broken links to Archive.org pages without a browser add-on, but you cannot create an Archive.org page directly. However, you can still link to these redirected pages, which can come in handy if you are repairing broken links in old web content.