FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Fixing broken links
Purpose
This project will help you determine the correct links to replace broken links found on Wiki pages. This is especially helpful for English websites and may not cover those in other languages.
Project Contact
Task Page
Project Instructions
Step 1
Go to the List and choose a line in gray that has a broken link to work on. Those in orange will be completed by someone else in another project. Put your name in column I so no one else will work on the link.
Step 2
Copy the broken link found on the spreadsheet.
Step 3
Go to: https://archive.org/web/. This website has the Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine has a history of what a URL used to contain. This will help you know what the page contained so you can Google and locate the page more easily.
Step 4
In the Wayback machine URL field at the very top of the page, paste in your link. Then press the “Browse History” button
Step 5
You will now see a calendar that lists when the webpage was archived. Choose a date that has a blue circle around it to see what the page looked like. It is suggested to try a day 2 or 3 years earlier. If the page shows up as a broken link, then try a date a year earlier until you see a web page.
Step 6
If the Wayback machine does NOT have an original version of the page, try CachedPages.com to see if it contains a copy. Go to: http://www.cachedpages.com/
Delete the http:// in the Enter URL field and paste the broken URL.
Step 7
- Once you find the old webpage, go to Google and searching for the new URL. Try taking the beginning portion of the URL to locate a possible page. Also try googling some key words on the old page along with the first part of the URL. '
- For the broken link: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/marriage.html from the Wayback Machine you see the words: the name of the website: Illinois State Archives and the database it’s linking to: Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
- Type in google: Illinois state archives statewide marriage index 1763-1900
- Try out each of the URLS until you find a good match. For this example, the correct match is: http://www.ilsos.gov/isavital/marriagesrch.jsp
Step 8
With the correct new URL, go to the wiki county page and replace the broken link with the new one you have found. Be sure to check the page once you have updated it to be sure the new link you added works.
***NOTE: If you are unable to locate a new link for the broken URL, put the link and identifying information on this spreadsheet. Leave the reference on the wiki page and we will double check it.
Step 9
Record on your spreadsheet the new URL and the day it was fixed.