Web addresses sometimes include characters beyond the standard ASCII set.
Why is this important?
Introducing non-standard characters in URLs can unpredictably affect how browsers and search engine spiders interpret the links, potentially leading to issues if these characters are not correctly encoded.
What does the Optimization check?
Loud Interactive's safety check flag is raised if an internal link comprises any non-ASCII characters.
Examples that trigger this Optimization
Below are different instances where this situation might occur:
<ul> <li>https://loudinteractive.com/Path/øê.html</li> <li>https://loudinteractive.com/Path/øê.html?大学</li> <li>https://loudinteractive.com/Path/þorn.html</li> <li>https://loudinteractive.com/Path/中央大学.html</li></ul>
Why is this Optimization marked 'Potential Issue'?
Regarded as a 'Potential Issue,' presently it may not affect your site. However, it warrants attention for future proofing since there's a risk of encoding errors which can impact users' access to the URLs.
Our suggestion at Loud Interactive is to steer clear of non-ASCII characters within URLs, and to consider methods to modernize your URL structure. If changing your URL setup seems daunting, ensure that your current URLs with extended characters are being correctly escaped, and assess whether they are accessible to users and search engines without difficulty.