The Wayback Machine Debuts a New Plug-in Designed to Fix the Internet’s Broken Links Problem

The Internet Archive is best known for its mission to preserve the web and safeguard digital knowledge for future generations. This week, the nonprofit announced a new tool that expands on that goal by helping WordPress publishers maintain the long-term integrity of their content.

The Archive's Wayback Machine, which continuously indexes the internet by capturing snapshots of web pages, has partnered with Automattic, the company behind WordPress. Together, the two organizations have launched a new WordPress plug-in called Link Fixer to address the growing problem of "link rot."

Link rot refers to the gradual breakdown of hyperlinks across the web — URLs that once led to live pages but now return errors or dead ends. A 2024 Pew Research study found that nearly 40% of links from 2013 were no longer active, highlighting how widespread digital decay has become. This issue affects everything from news articles and government websites to Wikipedia entries and social media posts.

According to Automattic, the new plug-in works by scanning WordPress posts for outbound links and cross-referencing them with archived versions stored in the Wayback Machine. If an archived copy does not already exist, the tool automatically creates a new snapshot. When a linked page later goes offline, readers are seamlessly redirected to the archived version, ensuring continuity and preventing broken links.

In addition to fixing outbound links, the plug-in also archives a user's WordPress posts, helping preserve original content over time and improve its longevity online.

The goal of the tool is to ensure visitors always reach the best available version of a page. Automattic says the plug-in continuously monitors links, and if an original page that went offline becomes active again, the system will automatically restore the redirect to the live source rather than the archived copy.

Documentation published on GitHub shows that the plug-in's interface is straightforward and customizable. Users can control how often the plug-in checks links for validity (the default scan interval is every three days) and adjust other settings to suit their site's needs.

By combining WordPress's massive publishing ecosystem with the Wayback Machine's archival power, the new Link Fixer plug-in aims to slow the internet's steady erosion and keep digital knowledge accessible for years to come.