How to Fix Broken Links on Shopify (Manual + Automated)

Key Takeaways

• There are three ways to fix a broken link: redirect the URL, update the source link, or delete the source link
• 301 redirects preserve SEO authority from inbound external links; updating source links preserves internal link structure better
• The right method depends on whether the broken link has external inbound links, how many places it appears, and whether the destination page exists
• Automated tools can apply fixes in bulk — essential for stores with many broken links

You’ve run a scan, found your broken links, and now you need to fix them. This is the step most guides skip over — the actual mechanics of applying fixes correctly.

Not all broken link fixes are equal. A redirect preserves different things than updating the source content. Bulk fixes work differently than single fixes. Understanding which approach to use in which situation is what separates a clean fix from one that leaves problems behind.

The Three Ways to Fix a Broken Link

Method 1: Set Up a URL Redirect

A URL redirect tells browsers and search engines: “This URL has moved. Go here instead.” A 301 redirect (permanent) is what you want in almost all cases.

When to use a redirect:

• The destination page was deleted and no longer exists
• External websites link to the broken URL (redirects preserve ~90% of that authority)
• The URL appears in many places (external links, indexed Google results, customer bookmarks) that you can’t easily update

How to set up a redirect in Shopify:

1. Go to Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects
2. Click Add URL redirect
3. In “Redirect from,” enter the broken URL (e.g., /products/old-product-name)
4. In “Redirect to,” enter the destination (e.g., /products/new-product-name or /collections/category)
5. Save

Choosing the right destination: The redirect destination should be the most semantically similar live page. In priority order:

• A direct replacement product → redirect to that product
• A parent collection → redirect to the collection the product was in
• A category page → redirect to the broadest relevant category
• Homepage → only as a last resort; minimal authority preservation

Don’t redirect every broken link to your homepage. Google treats a mass of redirects to the homepage as signals that those old URLs are truly gone, and the homepage won’t pass meaningful topical authority for product-specific queries.

For bulk redirects: Shopify lets you import redirects via CSV. If you have dozens or hundreds of URLs to redirect, prepare a CSV with “Redirect from” and “Redirect to” columns and import it via the URL Redirects page.

Method 2: Update the Source Link

Instead of redirecting the old URL, find the content that contains the broken link and update the link to point to the correct destination directly.

When to use this method:

• The broken link is in content you control (product descriptions, blog posts, page content)
• The correct destination URL exists and is stable
• There are few occurrences of the broken link (under 5–10 places)

Why this is often better than a redirect:

• Removes a redirect hop — the link goes directly to the destination with no intermediate step
• Passes full authority without the small loss that occurs through redirects
• Keeps your URL redirect list clean

How to do it:

For product descriptions: Edit the product in your Shopify admin, find the link in the description editor, and update the URL.

For blog posts: Open the blog post editor, find the linked text, and update the URL in the link editor.

For custom pages: Edit the page content and update the link.

If you have many occurrences of the same broken URL across many different posts, updating each manually becomes time-consuming. This is where an automated tool helps.

Method 3: Remove the Broken Link

Sometimes the right fix is deleting the link entirely rather than redirecting or updating it.

When to use this method:

• The page that was linked to no longer has a relevant replacement
• The link was to a promotional page or campaign that’s genuinely over
• The anchor text and context of the link no longer make sense without the destination

Removing a link is less common than redirecting or updating, but it’s the right call when the link itself is outdated rather than just pointing to the wrong URL.

Which Method for Which Situation?

Verifying Fixes Work

After applying a fix, verify it resolved the issue:

For redirects:

• Paste the broken URL directly in your browser — it should redirect to the destination
• Use a tool like httpstatus.io to check the exact HTTP response code (should be 301)
• Confirm the destination page actually loads correctly

For updated source links:

• View the page where you made the edit and click the link
• Confirm it goes to the correct destination
• Check there are no typos in the URL you entered

For bulk fixes:

• Re-run your link scanner after applying fixes to confirm the broken links are resolved
• Allow 24–48 hours after redirect setup, as Shopify may cache pages briefly

Avoiding Redirect Chains

A redirect chain is when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C. These chains are worse than single redirects for two reasons:

• Each hop adds latency (slower page load)
• Small amounts of link authority are lost at each hop

How chains develop on Shopify:

1. Product handle changes from old-name to new-name — Shopify creates a redirect from old-name to new-name
2. Later, the handle changes again from new-name to final-name — Shopify creates a redirect from new-name to final-name
3. Now you have a chain: old-name → new-name → final-name

How to fix chains: In your Shopify URL Redirects list, find chains and update the first redirect to point directly to the final destination. So old-name should redirect to final-name, skipping the intermediate step.

Using an App for Automated Fixes

For stores with many broken links, manual fixing doesn’t scale. Each fix requires finding the broken link, choosing the right destination, and applying the change — multiplied by dozens or hundreds of broken links.

Automated tools like Relink change this workflow:

1. The scanner identifies all broken links across your store
2. The AI analyzes each broken link — looking at the source page context, the anchor text, and your store’s current URL structure — and suggests the most appropriate fix
3. You review suggestions (in Recommend mode) or let the app apply them automatically (in Auto mode)

The AI suggestion step is important because choosing the right redirect destination requires judgment. A broken link to /products/blue-jacket on a page about men’s outerwear should redirect differently than the same broken URL on a page about women’s fashion. Context matters.

After You Fix Broken Links: Monitoring

Broken links are not a one-time problem. New ones appear every time you:

• Delete a product or page
• Change a URL handle
• Restructure collections
• Publish blog content with typos in links

The fix is establishing an ongoing monitoring process:

Option 1: Monthly manual scan — run a scan at the start of each month using whatever tool you use, fix what you find, and move on.

Option 2: Automated monitoring — use an app that scans automatically (daily or on schedule) and notifies you of new broken links as they appear. This is more reliable because new broken links get caught immediately rather than accumulating for 30 days.

The monitoring cadence that works for you depends on how frequently your catalog changes. A store that adds and removes products weekly needs more frequent monitoring than one with a stable catalog.

Relink finds broken links automatically and uses AI to suggest the right fix for each one. Apply fixes in bulk or let Auto mode handle them without any manual review. Install free on Shopify.