Title: 404Zen – Broken Link Fixer & Monitor
Author: SSL Zen - Free SSL/HTTPS
Published: July 10, 2026
Last modified: July 12, 2026
---
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# 404Zen – Broken Link Fixer & Monitor
By [SSL Zen – Free SSL/HTTPS](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sslzen/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/404zen-broken-link-fixer.1.1.2.zip)
* [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/404zen-broken-link-fixer/#description)
* [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/404zen-broken-link-fixer/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/404zen-broken-link-fixer/#installation)
* [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/404zen-broken-link-fixer/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/404zen-broken-link-fixer/)
## Description
Broken link checker that finds and fixes 404s, dead links, broken images and redirect
chains — fast, private, and light on your server.
### The broken link checker that grades your whole site
404Zen is a fast, private **broken link checker** for WordPress. It scans every
post, page, image and menu for broken links, **404 errors**, dead links, missing
images and redirect chains — entirely on your own server, with no cloud and no account—
then distills it all into a single **Link Health Grade (A–F)** so you know exactly
where your site stands.
Broken links quietly cost you visitors and tell Google your content is decaying.
404Zen lets you **fix them in one click** — edit the URL, unlink it, or dismiss
a false positive — without ever leaving WordPress. Your first scan starts automatically
the moment you activate. No setup wizard. No limits.
### Why site owners choose 404Zen
**A grade, not a data dump.** One letter tells you instantly whether your links
are helping or hurting your SEO, and the dashboard shows exactly what to fix first.
**Everything runs on your server.** Your URLs never leave your site — no third-party
scanning service, no account, private by design.
**Unlimited scanning, free forever.** No monthly credits, no metering, no “250 links
per month” ceiling.
**Fixes, not just reports.** Edit a URL, unlink it, or dismiss a false positive
right from the results table — you never have to open the post editor.
**Gentle on your server.** Checks run in small background batches with load-aware
pausing, tuned for shared hosting rather than just big VPS boxes.
### What 404Zen finds
Broken internal and external links (404s), dead links, missing images, redirect
chains and loops, timeouts, and DNS failures — all flagged and grouped so you can
act on them fast.
### Your Link Health Checklist
A guided checklist walks you from your first scan to a clean, protected site — right
down to confirming you’re serving HTTPS. Reach 100% and your visitors stop hitting
dead ends.
### 404Zen Pro — set it and forget it
Upgrade when you’re ready for **one-click auto-redirects** that send visitors from
broken URLs straight to the right page, plus **CSV exports** and **multisite** management.
One license, one flat price, with a **lifetime option available** — no per-link
nickel-and-diming, and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Built by **Zen Plugins** — the team behind SSL Zen (★4.9, 1M+ downloads). Focused
plugins. Zero bloat.
### External services
404Zen checks links on your own server via the WordPress HTTP API. The only outbound
requests are: (1) to the URLs in your own content, to test whether they work — no
personal data, just the URL being checked and a User-Agent identifying the plugin
and your site; (2) to Freemius, only if you open the Pro upgrade, checkout or license
screens (bundled SDK, anonymous mode) — see the [Freemius Privacy Policy](https://freemius.com/privacy/);
and (3) to Zen Plugins (`https://zenplugins.org/subscribe.php`), only if you tick
the optional product-updates opt-in, which sends just the email address you enter—
see the [Zen Plugins privacy policy](https://zenplugins.org/privacy/). Nothing else
ever leaves your site.
## Screenshots
[⌊Your Link Health Grade at a glance — the dashboard grades every link A–F and shows
exactly what to fix, with a step-by-step checklist.⌉⌊Your Link Health Grade at a
glance — the dashboard grades every link A–F and shows exactly what to fix, with
a step-by-step checklist.⌉[
Your Link Health Grade at a glance — the dashboard grades every link A–F and shows
exactly what to fix, with a step-by-step checklist.
[⌊Fix broken links in one click — edit the URL, unlink it, dismiss false positives,
or recheck, right from the results table.⌉⌊Fix broken links in one click — edit
the URL, unlink it, dismiss false positives, or recheck, right from the results
table.⌉[
Fix broken links in one click — edit the URL, unlink it, dismiss false positives,
or recheck, right from the results table.
[⌊Settings: choose your scan frequency, what to check, server-load protection and
the weekly email digest.⌉⌊Settings: choose your scan frequency, what to check, server-
load protection and the weekly email digest.⌉[
Settings: choose your scan frequency, what to check, server-load protection and
the weekly email digest.
[⌊404Zen Pro: unlimited local scanning, one-click auto-redirects, CSV export and
multisite — flat price, lifetime option.⌉⌊404Zen Pro: unlimited local scanning,
one-click auto-redirects, CSV export and multisite — flat price, lifetime option
.⌉[
404Zen Pro: unlimited local scanning, one-click auto-redirects, CSV export and multisite—
flat price, lifetime option.
## Installation
1. Install and activate 404Zen through the Plugins screen, or upload the ZIP via Plugins
Add New Upload.
2. The first scan starts automatically in the background within a few minutes.
3. Visit **404Zen** in your admin menu to see results, or click **Scan now** to start
immediately.
4. Adjust scan frequency, batch size, exclusions and the email digest under **404Zen
Settings**.
## FAQ
### What makes 404Zen different from other broken link checkers?
Three things: it runs entirely on your own server (your URLs never leave your site),
scanning is unlimited and free with no monthly credits, and it doesn’t just report
broken links — it grades your whole site A–F and lets you fix links in one click
without opening the editor.
### Does 404Zen keep monitoring for new broken links?
Yes. Set it to scan hourly, twice daily, daily or weekly and it works as an ongoing
404 monitor — re-checking your site on schedule and updating your Link Health Grade,
so new broken links surface on their own instead of waiting for you to look.
### Does 404Zen send my data to a third-party service?
No. There is no account to create and no scanning service — all link checking runs
on your own server using the WordPress HTTP API, and your URLs never leave your
site. Two optional exceptions send data only when you act: the bundled Freemius
SDK (Pro licensing/checkout) sends nothing unless you open the upgrade, checkout
or license screens, and the product-updates opt-in sends your email only if you
explicitly tick it. See the External services section for full details.
### Will it slow down my site?
No. Checks run in small background batches via WP-Cron, pause between requests,
and stop after a short time budget. 404Zen also watches your server’s load average
and skips its run entirely while the server is busy.
### What counts as a broken link?
HTTP status 400 and above (404, 410, 500, …), connection failures, DNS errors and
timeouts. Links that pass through two or more redirects are flagged separately as
redirect chains.
### Does it check images?
Yes. Image sources (`![]()
`) are checked the same way as links. You can turn
this off in Settings.
### Can I exclude certain URLs or post types?
Yes. Settings lets you exclude any post type and any URL pattern (a simple substring
match, one per line).
### How do I fix a broken link?
Right from the dashboard: edit the URL inline, unlink it (keeping the text), or
dismiss it if it’s a false positive. You never have to open the post editor.
### Does it work with WP-Cron disabled?
If you’ve disabled WP-Cron and use a real cron job that calls `wp-cron.php`, 404Zen
works normally. Without any cron at all, scans run opportunistically on page visits,
like every other WP-Cron task.
### Is 404Zen compatible with multisite?
The free version works on individual sites of a network. Network-wide management
is part of 404Zen Pro.
### What does my Link Health Grade mean?
A means clean. The grade weighs broken links, redirect chains and how fresh your
last scan is. The dashboard explains your current grade and exactly how to raise
it.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“404Zen – Broken Link Fixer & Monitor” is open source software. The following people
have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ SSL Zen – Free SSL/HTTPS ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sslzen/)
[Translate “404Zen – Broken Link Fixer & Monitor” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/404zen-broken-link-fixer)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/404zen-broken-link-fixer/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/404zen-broken-link-fixer/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/404zen-broken-link-fixer/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/404zen-broken-link-fixer/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.1.2
* Fixed the Documentation links (they now point to 404zen.com/docs, which is live).
* Upgrade page: the headline now adapts to your actual link health — no false “
you’re leaking traffic” when your site is already clean — plus added a trust
line, a clearer auto-applied discount with an end date, and a stronger primary
button.
#### 1.1.1
* Listing refresh: clearer, benefit-led description and expanded FAQ (ongoing 404
monitoring; how 404Zen compares).
* Tightened the External services disclosure (same coverage, less text).
* Retargeted the search tags. No functional code changes.
#### 1.1.0
* Renamed to 404Zen – Broken Link Fixer & Monitor.
* New Link Health Grade dashboard and step-by-step checklist.
* Scan frequency (hourly, twice daily, daily, weekly) is available to everyone.
* Added an External services disclosure to this readme, covering the optional product-
updates opt-in.
* Prefixed the admin menu slug (`404zen` `lgbf-404zen`) for WordPress.org compliance.
#### 1.0.0
* Initial release: background link scanner, broken links dashboard with inline
fixes, weekly email digest.
## Meta
* Version **1.1.2**
* Last updated **14 hours ago**
* Active installations **Fewer than 10**
* WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.0.1**
* PHP version ** 7.2 or higher **
* Tags
* [404 monitor](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/404-monitor/)[Broken Link Checker](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/broken-link-checker/)
[broken links](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/broken-links/)[dead links](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/dead-links/)
[link checker](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/link-checker/)
* [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/404zen-broken-link-fixer/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/404zen-broken-link-fixer/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/404zen-broken-link-fixer/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ SSL Zen – Free SSL/HTTPS ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sslzen/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/404zen-broken-link-fixer/)