Fixing Link Text Strikethroughs

If you’ve noticed link text on your website being crossed out or struck through, the Broken Link Checker plugin might be flagging those links as broken. While this is a helpful feature to highlight issues, it can disrupt the appearance of your website.

Let’s Get Started

This is what strikethroughs look like on your page:

Here’s a step-by-step guide to address the issue:

1: Access the Plugin Settings

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Link Checker > Local to open the Broken Link Checker plugin interface.

2: Review the Broken Links List

This is what we found on our website one morning:

1. Check the list of broken links detected by the plugin by clicking the Broken Links tab.
2. Identify which links are incorrectly flagged or need attention.

Fortunately, the links in question were functional, but this situation highlighted the plugin’s ability to detect potential and non-potential issues. The plugin itself was not at fault; rather, the behavior resulted from our use of the BetterDocs plugin (we no longer use), which allows a single post URL to appear in multiple categories. This functionality caused the plugin to interpret the links as 404 errors.

3: Edit or Unlink Problematic Links

1. Click the “Edit URL” option next to a broken link to correct the URL.
2. If the link is no longer valid, use the “Unlink” option to remove it.
3. If the link is ok, use the “NOT Broken” option to fix it.

4: Adjust Display Settings

To prevent the strikethrough from appearing on your site:

1. Go to Link Checker in the WordPress dashboard.
2. Find the General tab and locate the “Link Tweaks” option.
3. Uncheck the box labeled “Apply custom formatting to broken links.”
4. Or you can change the CSS to something else if you prefer.
5. Save your changes.

NOTE: Your broken links will no longer display with a strikethrough, ensuring a seamless experience for your readers.

5: Verify Your Changes

1. Visit your website and check the affected pages to confirm that the strikethrough has been removed.
2. Use the plugin’s tools to verify that all broken links are resolved or removed.

Final Tip

Regularly monitor and maintain your site’s links to ensure they remain functional and visually consistent. A clean, professional appearance enhances user experience and SEO performance. Remember, Google has eyes they see your broken links which discredits your website and of course, it’s not professional.