drlinkcheck.com

Dr. Link Check scans a site by crawling outward from a single start URL: it reads the HTML and CSS of every page it can reach, collects each link it finds, and runs several checks on every one. You get a report that ranges from a high-level summary down to the exact spot in the code where a problem link appears, with sorting, filtering, and CSV export. To use it you need a start URL and a browser with JavaScript enabled — the site's own page states that the checker requires JavaScript.

What the scan covers

The crawler begins at your start URL and follows the site's structure through its HTML and CSS. According to the site, the links it examines include:

• Internal page links between your own pages
• Outbound links to other websites
• Links to images, style sheets, and other resource files

This matters because broken images and missing stylesheets hurt a page just as a dead hyperlink does, and a manual click-through would rarely catch them.

The checks each link passes

Every link found goes through more than one test, so a "200 OK" alone doesn't clear it:

The soft error check is the one most manual reviews miss: the server says the page exists, but the content tells a different story.

Reading and using the report

Results are organized from a summary of the whole check down to the exact locations of the found links in your code, so you can go straight to the line that needs fixing. The site says results can be sorted and filtered in various ways and exported to CSV for further work in Microsoft Excel — useful if you want to assign fixes to different people or track progress across a large site.

Keeping checks running

Checks can be scheduled to run automatically on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis, with status reports delivered by email. That turns link checking from a one-off cleanup into an early-warning system for link rot, so you find dead links before visitors do. The site also mentions advanced customization options for controlling aspects of a check, though the available page text cuts off before listing them.

Practical notes before you start

• JavaScript is required. The checker page will not run without it, so enable JavaScript and reload before starting.
• Pick a start URL that represents the site. The crawl expands from there, so a section-level URL will scope the check to what is reachable from it.
• Plan for the report, not just the scan. Decide in advance whether you will sort by error type, filter to a section, or export to CSV — the report supports all three, and choosing early saves rework.
• Check pricing before committing to scheduled runs. The site links to a pricing page, but the available material does not state costs, so confirm terms there rather than assuming a free tier.

Dr. Link Check checks every link it finds on your site in three passes: a broken-link check (malformed URLs, server timeouts, invalid SSL certificates, and error codes such as 404 or 500), a blacklist check for links to malicious content, and a soft-error check for pages that return 200 OK but still signal a problem. It applies these checks to internal pages, outbound links, and resource files such as images and style sheets, starting from a single start URL.

The three checks, in detail

Broken link check

This pass asks whether the link actually leads where it should. According to the site, each link is tested for:

• URL formatting — is the address properly formed?
• Server response time — does the server answer within a reasonable amount of time, or does it time out?
• SSL certificate validity — is the certificate valid, or will visitors hit a security warning?
• Return codes — does the response indicate an error, such as 404 for a missing page or 500 for a server error?

Blacklist check

Beyond whether a link works, Dr. Link Check asks whether it is safe. Each link is compared against blacklists for hosting malicious content. This matters because a link that loads fine can still expose visitors to malware or phishing, which the site describes as worse than a broken link.

Soft error check

Some pages return a 200 OK success code while the content itself says something is wrong — for example, a "page not found" message served with a success status. Dr. Link Check flags these soft errors so they don't slip through a check that only looks at status codes.

What gets checked

The bot starts from a start URL and crawls the HTML and CSS of the site, examining every link it can find. That covers:

Why the distinction matters

A status-code-only check catches 404s but misses two categories: links that resolve to harmful destinations, and pages that "succeed" while showing an error. Running all three checks per link is what lets the report reflect the actual experience a visitor would have.

Getting the results into a usable form

Results are presented from a high-level summary down to the exact location of each link in the code, and can be sorted, filtered, and exported to CSV for further work in Excel. Checks can also be scheduled to run daily, weekly, or monthly, with status reports sent by email — useful for catching link rot before visitors do.

For current plan details and limits, see the Pricing page on drlinkcheck.com.

Dr. Link Check is a web-based broken-link and malicious-link checker. You give it a start URL, and its bot crawls the HTML and CSS of your site to find internal page links, outbound links, and links to images, style sheets, and other resource files. It then runs each link through several checks and produces a report of the links that need attention. It fits best when you want to audit a whole site rather than test one URL at a time, and when you want problems surfaced in a report you can sort, filter, and export.

What it checks

Each link the crawler finds passes through multiple checks, so a "working" link that actually points somewhere unintended still gets flagged.

The site frames the stakes plainly: non-working links are annoying and reflect poorly on professionalism, can drive visitors away, and can negatively affect search engine rankings. Links to malware or phishing sites are worse than dead ones, which is why the blacklist and soft-error checks sit alongside the basic 404 hunt.

How a check runs

1. Enter a start URL. The bot begins there and crawls the HTML and CSS of the entire site.
2. It collects every link it can find — internal pages, outbound links, images, style sheets, and other resources.
3. Each link goes through the broken-link, blacklist, and soft-error checks.
4. You get a report ranging from a high-level summary down to the exact locations of the found links in the code.

The report is the part that makes the tool practical for fixing things: results can be sorted and filtered in various ways and exported to CSV for further processing in Microsoft Excel. That means you can hand a filtered list of 404s to whoever owns the content, or work through outbound links separately from image resources.

Scheduled checks and customization

You can configure checks to run automatically on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis and receive status reports by email. This is the feature that turns the tool from a one-off audit into ongoing monitoring — it lets you detect link rot early, before visitors do. The site also notes that it allows control over various aspects of a link check, though the specifics of that advanced customization aren't detailed in the available material.

When it's the right fit

• You're auditing an existing site and want every link checked in a single pass instead of clicking through pages manually.
• You care about outbound link safety, not just 404s — the blacklist and soft-error checks target links that resolve but shouldn't be there.
• You need to hand off fixes, since CSV export and code-level link locations make the report actionable for other people.
• You want recurring monitoring, via daily, weekly, or monthly scheduled runs with email reports.

If you only need to confirm that one specific URL loads, a full site crawl is more than you need. And note that the check interface requires JavaScript enabled in your browser — the page states this explicitly, so a script-blocked browser won't get you to the results.

Pricing isn't covered in the available material beyond the existence of a pricing page, so check that page directly before committing to a plan.

Yes. Dr. Link Check can run link checks automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule, and it can send status reports to you by email. This is the feature to use if you want to catch link rot early instead of discovering broken links when visitors report them. The scheduling option is described on the site's home page alongside the core checking features; the public page does not list which plans include it, so confirm availability on the Pricing page before relying on it.

How scheduled checks fit into the workflow

A scheduled check repeats the same crawl-and-check process you would otherwise start manually:

• Input: a start URL for your site.
• Action: the bot crawls the HTML and CSS of the site, finds internal links, outbound links, and links to resources such as images and style sheets, and runs each link through multiple checks.
• Output: a report of links that need attention, delivered by email on your chosen schedule.

Because the crawl begins at a start URL and follows what it finds, scheduling works best for a defined site or section rather than a loose collection of unrelated pages.

What each scheduled run checks

Every link found passes through several checks, so a scheduled report covers more than simple 404s:

The soft error check is the one most likely to surface problems a manual click-through would miss, since the page technically loads.

Reading and acting on the reports

Scheduled emails are only useful if the results are easy to work through. Dr. Link Check's reports range from a high-level summary down to the exact locations of the found links in the code, and results can be sorted, filtered, and exported to CSV for further processing in Microsoft Excel. A practical routine is to open the summary first, filter to the error types you care about, then use the code locations to fix each link.

Deciding whether to turn scheduling on

Scheduling is worth enabling if your site changes regularly or links to external sites you don't control, since those are the links most likely to break without warning. If your site is small and rarely edited, a manual check when you publish changes may be enough. Either way, the first step is the same: run a check from your start URL, review the report, and then decide whether the recurring email is something you'll actually act on.

Dr. Link Check is worth considering if you want an automated way to find broken, malicious, and soft-error links across a whole site rather than checking pages by hand. It fits teams that also need scheduled re-checks, email status reports, and CSV export for follow-up work. Before committing, confirm that its check types match your risks and review the Pricing page for plan options, since the available material does not list prices or free-tier limits.

What the tool actually checks

Dr. Link Check starts from a start URL and crawls the HTML and CSS of the site, examining internal page links, outbound links, and links to images, style sheets, and other resource files. Each link goes through several checks:

This combination matters if your main concern is not just dead pages but also links to malware or phishing sites, expired certificates, and pages that load but effectively fail. If you only need a one-off 404 sweep, the extra checks may be more than you need.

Reporting and workflow fit

Results range from a high-level summary down to the exact locations of links in the code, and can be sorted, filtered, and exported to CSV for processing in Excel. That is useful when fixes are assigned to developers or content editors who need file-level locations rather than a plain list of URLs. If your workflow ends at "here are the bad links," the detailed reporting is a convenience rather than a requirement.

Scheduled checks and email reports

Checks can be configured to run automatically monthly, weekly, or daily, with status reports sent by email. This is the feature to weigh if link rot is an ongoing problem — for example, a site with many outbound links to external resources that change or disappear over time. For a small static site updated rarely, manual checks may be enough.

Decision checklist

• Choose Dr. Link Check if you need broken-link, SSL, blacklist, and soft-error checks in one pass, plus scheduled runs and CSV export.
• Look elsewhere or check further if you only need occasional manual link checks, or if budget is the deciding factor — review the Pricing page before committing, as plan details and any limits are not specified in the available information.
• Verify before relying on it for anything beyond link checking; the material describes link analysis and reporting, not broader SEO or security auditing.