How Broken Links and Outdated Code Hurt Your Website Performance

Don’t Let Invisible Errors Destroy Your Traffic, SEO & User Experience

Your website may look great on the surface, but if it’s filled with broken links and outdated code, it’s only a matter of time before you start losing:

• 🚫 Visitors
• 📉 Rankings
• 💸 Revenue

These “silent killers” often go unnoticed — but they have a major impact on how users experience your site and how search engines rank it.

At DigitalMedia88, we specialize in identifying and fixing these hidden problems — before they start hurting your business.

Let’s explore why broken links and outdated code are serious issues — and how to fix them.

What Are Broken Links and Outdated Code?

Broken Links (a.k.a. Dead Links)

These are hyperlinks that lead to non-existent pages, either internally or externally.
They typically return a 404 error.

Common Causes:

• Deleted or moved web pages
• Typo in the URL
• Changed URLs during website redesign
• External sites shutting down

Outdated Code

Outdated code refers to old scripts, libraries, or functions that are no longer supported or optimized for modern browsers and devices.

Examples:

• Deprecated HTML tags or attributes
• Outdated JavaScript libraries (e.g., jQuery v1.9)
• Unsupported plugins or frameworks
• Inline styles that reduce responsiveness

How These Issues Hurt Your Website

1. Negative SEO Impact: Search engines, especially Google, crawl your website to evaluate its structure and value. Broken links and messy code create red flags.

Broken Links:

• Interrupt crawling paths → Google can’t index pages properly
• Signal poor site health
• Lower your domain authority

Outdated Code:

• Slows down your site
• Can conflict with browser updates
• Reduces mobile responsiveness, hurting mobile-first indexing

Result: Google drops your rankings in favor of faster, cleaner websites.

2. Poor User Experience (UX): Imagine a visitor excitedly clicking on a product or blog link — only to hit a 404 error.
Or a form that doesn’t work due to outdated JavaScript.

This creates:

• Frustration
• Loss of trust
• Higher bounce rates

UX = SEO. A bad experience leads users to leave — and Google notices.

3. Slower Website Performance: Old code can:

• Load unnecessary files
• Trigger multiple HTTP requests
• Conflict with newer code libraries

This causes your site to load slowly, especially on mobile or poor networks — a major factor in conversion loss and SEO decline.

4. Security Vulnerabilities: Outdated scripts and plugins are prime targets for hackers.
They often contain known vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.

Broken links also create redirect loopholes that can be used for phishing or injection attacks.

🚨 If your site gets hacked or flagged as unsafe, Google may blacklist it.

5. Lost Conversions and Revenue: Every broken link or outdated function is a dead end in your conversion path:

• Broken product pages = lost sales
• Broken contact forms = lost leads
• Broken navigation = lost users

Your website should guide users — not frustrate them.

How to Fix These Problems (Before They Cost You More)

For Broken Links:

1. Run regular audits using tools like:
   • Screaming Frog
   • Ahrefs
   • Broken Link Checker
2. Redirect (301) outdated URLs to active, relevant pages.
3. Update internal links during redesigns or content changes.
4. Monitor external links — replace or remove links to dead external sites.

For Outdated Code:

1. Remove deprecated HTML elements and attributes.
2. Update to the latest version of JS frameworks and CSS libraries.
3. Minify and combine files for better load speed.
4. Ensure code is W3C compliant and cross-browser compatible.
5. Replace outdated plugins/themes with lightweight and maintained alternatives.

How DigitalMedia88 Can Help

At DigitalMedia88, we offer complete website health optimization that includes:

Broken Link Management

• Regular crawling
• Fixing or redirecting dead links
• Updating link structures

Code Modernization

• Refactoring and cleaning legacy code
• Upgrading JS/CSS libraries
• Improving performance across devices

Security Hardening

• Removing vulnerable scripts
• Strengthening your site against attacks

SEO & UX Audits

• Ensuring both humans and bots love your site

Conclusion

Don’t let small errors turn into big losses.
Broken links and outdated code may be hiding in plain sight — but their impact is massive.

Your website should be:

• Fast ⚡
• Clean 🧽
• Secure 🔐
• Functional ✅
• Loved by users AND Google 💚

Let DigitalMedia88 keep your site sharp, smooth, and search-ready.

📞 Ready for a complete website health check?
👉 Visit www.digitalmedia88.com
📧 Email us at: info@digitalmedia88.com

Let’s fix the issues you can’t see — before your customers do.