How to fix broken internal images?

If the images on your website aren’t loading correctly it’s going to give users an error message that negatively impacts the experience. If a 4xx or 5xx HTTP status code is returned from a URL, it indicates that the URL contains a broken image of some kind that needs to be fixed. 

Why it’s important to fix broken internal images

Images of all kinds (.jpg, .jpeg, .png,.gif, or .webp) add another layer of information to a web page that should make the user experience better. Unfortunately, if the image is broken it has the opposite effect. For example, when you try to load an image that doesn’t exist, you’ll get a 404 error message. This is a common problem that can cause users to leave a site almost immediately. 

Broken internal images on your web pages don’t just harm the user experience. Search engines will also be unable to index these images in their search results. It will be more difficult for users to find what they want, and for your website to get found by them. 

In addition, the website can be abandoned if the search bots find too many images with insufficient data. This will affect conversion, and the website’s position in the search results.

What causes broken internal images?

So, why exactly are your images broken? There are many potential causes that could be at play both internally and externally, including:

• A temporary server outage.
• The image could be too large.
• Poor internet connection speed. 
• The code doesn’t include a picture’s actual name and extension.
• Careless deletion or relocation of the previously-existing image.
• When the website is moved to a new location, it could be deleted from the server.
• Your code has a flaw with a file path. For instance, you may have supplied a local path, assuming the website will automatically retrieve the image from your local storage.
• The CMS has been updated.
• The image file is corrupted.

How to fix broken internal images

There’s a very straightforward solution for this problem. Swap out broken internal images with working ones that result in a 200 HTTP status code or eliminate them the broken images. In the case of some out-of-date pages, for instance, the corrupted image can be simply removed by erasing a single line of code.

Broken images can be easily replaced in the WordPress admin with the help of a dedicated plugin. When replacing broken images, you can use the default image or upload a new one. If the issue appeared after specific image names were altered or files were relocated to a new image directory, double-check that your code reflects these modifications.

The decision of whether to fix or remove a broken image must be based on the damaged images’ total quantity and monetary value. 

Final word on fixing broken internal images

Broken internal image negatively affects the user experience, and it can also have an adverse influence on the search engine optimization of your website. Users will have an easier time locating your website in the search results depending on how well your SEO is done. When a search engine discovers that your website contains many broken links, graphics, and images, it is more likely to lower the website’s ranking. But if you fix those broken internal images you should experience the opposite effect.

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