The Internet Archive is teaming up with Automattic to tackle one of the web’s longest-running headaches: link rot. Their new WordPress plug-in, called Link Fixer, automatically preserves and repairs outbound links by routing readers to archived copies when originals vanish, aiming to keep articles intact long after the live web moves on.
The problem is pervasive. Pew Research Center has reported that nearly 40% of links that existed a decade earlier no longer work, a quiet form of digital decay that erodes the reliability of news stories, public records, and social posts. With WordPress powering a large share of the web, the solution lands where it can make an outsized difference.
How the Link Fixer Plugin Preserves and Repairs Links
Once installed, the plug-in scans posts for outbound URLs and checks the Wayback Machine to see whether a stable snapshot exists. If the archive doesn’t have a copy, the tool triggers a fresh capture. When a linked page later fails or disappears, readers are automatically sent to the archived version, preserving the context and avoiding 404s.
The plug-in continually monitors links. If a page that was previously down comes back online, the redirect is lifted and readers are returned to the live source. The system also archives the publisher’s own posts to bolster long-term access to on-site content.
A public write-up indicates the controls are straightforward, including a setting to choose how often links are checked; the default cadence is every three days. That balance aims to keep references fresh without overloading sites or the archive.
Why Link Rot Is Accelerating Across the Modern Web
Web pages are constantly revised, moved behind paywalls, migrated to new content systems, or removed entirely. Over years, even well-maintained sites accumulate dead citations—especially older posts that reference external documents, ephemeral social content, or institutional PDFs.
The scale goes beyond inconvenience. Research from Harvard Law School has shown that a substantial share of links in U.S. court opinions degrade over time, and scholarly work has documented widespread “reference rot” in academic literature. The exact figures vary by domain, but the trend line is clear: without systematic archiving, context disappears.
Impact for Publishers, Readers, and Long-Term SEO
WordPress powers roughly 43% of all websites, according to W3Techs. That makes an opt-in, CMS-level solution a practical bulwark against broken links across millions of posts. For publishers, it improves reader experience, reduces support burdens, and preserves the integrity of reporting by ensuring that cited sources remain accessible.
Consider a city budget PDF that’s removed after a municipal site redesign. Without preservation, the reference in an old post becomes a dead end. With Link Fixer, the article continues to point to a faithful historical copy, keeping readers on the page and maintaining trust.
While no plug-in guarantees ranking gains, stable references can support crawlability and reduce bounce-inducing errors. The bigger win is resilience: editorial work remains verifiable and useful, even as the live web churns.
Part of a Broader Preservation Ecosystem
The Wayback Machine has saved hundreds of billions of web pages, but preservation works best when capture happens at the moment of publishing. Tools like Perma.cc protect legal citations, and the Memento protocol helps users find past versions across archives. Link Fixer complements these efforts by automating archiving directly where content is created and maintained.
Embedding preservation into everyday workflows distributes the effort: instead of relying on ad hoc captures or hoping that someone archived a page, the plug-in builds a safety net by default.
Governance, Control, and Options for Site Owners
Site owners retain control over how frequently the plug-in scans links and when to trigger captures. The Internet Archive, for its part, maintains established processes for handling legitimate removal requests and works with rights holders and site operators on access considerations.
For organizations with compliance or confidentiality needs, administrators can tailor settings and apply internal review policies before deployment, balancing preservation with governance requirements.
The Bottom Line on Preserving Links with Link Fixer
Link Fixer won’t eliminate link rot everywhere, but it meaningfully reduces it where it matters: inside the world’s most widely used publishing platform. By pairing WordPress automation with the Wayback Machine’s archival muscle, the plug-in offers a practical path to keep the internet’s citations alive.
For newsrooms, academics, and public institutions alike, that means fewer dead ends, more durable records, and a web that remembers.
