Find and fix broken links before your visitors do.
LinkGuard scans your WordPress site in the background for 404s, dead links, broken images and redirect chains — then lets you fix each one in a single click, without opening the editor.
Free forever on WordPress.org · Pro from $49/year
Everything you need to keep links healthy
Broken links frustrate visitors and quietly erode your SEO. LinkGuard watches them so you don't have to.
Background scanning
Checks run in small batches via WP-Cron with pauses between requests and a strict time budget — your visitors never feel it.
Server-load aware
LinkGuard monitors your server's load average and pauses itself when things get busy. Scanning never competes with real traffic.
One-click fixes
Edit a URL inline, unlink while keeping the text, dismiss false positives, or recheck — all from one dashboard.
Redirect-chain detection
Links that bounce through two or more redirects before landing are flagged, with the full chain and final destination shown.
Weekly email digest
A summary of newly found broken links lands in your inbox once a week — so you hear about problems even when you're not looking.
Private by design
Everything runs on your own server through the WordPress HTTP API. No external service, no API keys, no data sharing. Ever.
Up and running in a minute
Install & activate
The first scan starts automatically in the background — no setup required.
Review problems
Broken links, timeouts and redirect chains appear in one sortable dashboard.
Fix in one click
Edit, unlink or dismiss — the post content is updated for you.
LinkGuard Pro
Everything in free, plus automation for sites that can't afford a single lost visitor.
from $49 / year
- Auto-redirect rules — send visitors from broken URLs to a working page automatically (301/302, applied only to requests that would 404)
- Custom scan frequency — hourly, twice daily, daily or weekly
- CSV export of all scan results
- Multisite support
Pro is purchased right inside the plugin once installed — secure checkout by Freemius. Higher tiers ($99 / $199 per year) cover more sites.
Questions
Does LinkGuard send my data anywhere?
No. Scanning runs entirely on your server using the WordPress HTTP API. There is no cloud service, no account, and your content never leaves your site.
Will it slow down my site?
No — this is the problem LinkGuard was built around. Checks run in small throttled batches, pause between requests, stop after a short time budget, and skip entirely while your server is busy.
What does it detect?
404s and other 4xx/5xx errors, DNS failures, timeouts, broken images, and redirect chains of two or more hops — in both internal and external links.
Is it really free?
Yes. The scanner, dashboard, one-click fixes and email digest are free forever on WordPress.org. Pro adds automation: redirect rules, scan scheduling, CSV export and multisite.