Link Checker Reports

Two options are available for checking links:

• Content editors can run reports for individual pages via the [Link Checker Report] action button found in the bottom right corner on any of the CMS Lite content templates. This report checks against the Quality Assurance (QA) site.

• A global batch report that contains all broken links within gov.bc.ca by theme or topic is generated on the first Thursday of every month.  The monthly batch reports will be uploaded for viewing through the CMS Lite Reports tab.

Individual page reports are provided in PDF format; batch process reports are available in both PDF and MS Excel format.  Both reports will check for broken links on a page in the following fields:

• all WYSIWYG fields
• all URL link fields, except feed fields
• all image link fields

Both reports validate all links including 3^rd party links. If 3^rd party links do not respond within a specified timeframe, the link will be reported as 'Timed Out'. This does not necessarily mean the link is broken, but simply slow to respond. Try verifying the link outside of the report function. 

Report Format

Both reports contain the following fields:

• GUID: ID of the page containing the broken link
• Location: location of the page containing the broken link
• URL Link: the broken link
• Reason: why the link is considered broken
  • Missing Protocol (http or https)
  • Dead Link (page not found)
  • Bad Format (varies)
• Page Last Modified By: who last modified the page
• Page Last Modified Date: when the page was last modified
• Security Group: security group assigned to the page

URL check rules

Rules used to validate URL links on a page are as follows:

• URL must be in correct format, i.e. valid URL must contain protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) and a valid domain (host name or IP)
• URL must be active. Link checker verifies that the URL is an active page
• If URL's being redirected, link checker will verify the redirected URL. Max of two redirects are allowed for a URL link