In the vast expanse of the internet, many users have encountered the vexing issue of broken links leading to defunct websites. This predicament is poised to exacerbate as the digital landscape matures.
Remarkably, nearly 38% of webpages that were accessible in 2013 have vanished a decade later, as reported by the Pew Research Center.
In response to this growing challenge, the Internet Archive has unveiled a more user-friendly solution aimed at aiding website administrators, in conjunction with the widely-utilized hosting platform, WordPress, which accounts for approximately 40% of all websites.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine Link Fixer automates the mitigation of link rot. This innovative tool redirects visitors to a functional archived version of a webpage upon encountering a broken link.
Upon installation, the plug-in scans the existing site, systematically queuing pages for archiving. If a page has not previously been stored, it is dispatched for capture and preservation.
“It is imperative we maintain an accurate recollection of what has been communicated, shared, and expressed over time,” emphasized Alexander Rose, Director of Long-term Futures at Automattic Inc., the organization behind WordPress.
Rose contends that we are “increasingly relying on the web as our singular source of truth.” He further noted, “When links become inactive, the truth itself becomes dormant. This reality assumes even greater significance in an era increasingly shaped by AI.”
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The tool is presently available for download on the official WordPress.org plugin directory. This deployment coincides with notable milestones within the platform; on October 22, 2025, the Internet Archive marked the preservation of 1 trillion web pages, accessible through the Wayback Machine, approximately 20 years after its inception.
However, the platform is not without its share of legal hurdles. In September 2024, a federal appeals court ruled against the Internet Archive, siding with a collective of publishers that sued to terminate the nonprofit’s practice of loaning e-books produced through the scanning of print editions, a process known as “Controlled Digital Lending” (CDL).
Source link: Pcmag.com.
