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Writer's pictureBrent D. Payne

Has broken bookmarks

This indicates that the provided URL has embedded bookmark links which lead to other sections within the same or other pages, but the links are not functional.


Why is this important?

Bookmarks in a web context often refer to intra-page links that bring a user immediately to a designated part of a website. These anchors enhance navigation, particularly in lengthy documents. When these bookmarks fail, it negatively impacts the user's navigational experience as they will no longer be taken to the specific part of the page intended.


What does the Optimization check?

Our system flags any local URLs featuring in-page bookmarks that fail to lead to the designated sections.


Examples that trigger this Optimization:

Our Optimization mechanic activates for URLs formatted in this manner:


...provided the target page lacks a corresponding ID element.

The relevant ID element may look like this:

<h2 id="bookmark">Bookmark Section</h2>


How do you resolve this issue?

There are several reasons why bookmarks might break:

  • Inconsistencies between fragment identifiers and the actual ID attributes within the webpage's HTML.

  • Misconfiguration during initial page setup leading to incorrect or outdated anchors.

  • Alterations, deletions, or rendering issues concerning the target element for the bookmark within the DOM.

To address these issues, you should examine and update the pages featuring these broken bookmarks. They might be completely removed or corrected to point at the appropriate IDs.


Assess the list of problematic URLs flagged by the hint system to pinpoint whether the source of the issue is template-based or an isolated incident. Use powerful tools like Loud Interactive's proprietary features to facilitate this analysis.


For a closer look, opt to explore 'URL Details -> Bookmark Links' to scrutinize the specific bookmarks:

This approach allowed us to identify the flawed template, confirm the issue using our in-browser tools, and then we documented a developer task to rectify the template discrepancy.


Some broken bookmarks might not be related to template errors, as seen in the following example. Here, a bookmark was aimed to direct to a section on a distinct URL and was wrongly configured. The solution was straightforward—updating the erroneous link through the content management system to reflect the accurate target location.

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