How to Find and Fix Broken Links and 404 Errors in Shopify
Shopify broken links are links that point to pages that no longer exist, so shoppers land on a 404 “page not found” error instead of the product, collection or article they wanted. They usually appear after you delete or unpublish a product, change a URL handle, reorganize collections or switch themes.
Most broken links are easy to fix once you find them. The usual answer is a URL redirect to the closest live page, plus updating the menus, descriptions and theme links that still point to the old address, so shoppers and search engines reach a working page.
What Causes Broken Links in Shopify
Broken links almost always come from a page changing address or disappearing while links to it stay in place. The table shows the most common causes and what usually fixes each one.
| Cause | What happens | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Deleted product or collection | Menus, blog posts, ads and other sites still link to the removed page | Redirect to the closest replacement |
| Unpublished page | Visitors get a 404 just as if the page were deleted | Republish it, or add a redirect |
| Changed URL handle | The old URL stops working if no redirect was created | Add a redirect from the old handle |
| Theme or app change | A new theme or app links to pages differently or removes sections with links | Check menus and theme links after the change |
| Typos in links | A link in a menu, description or post was entered incorrectly | Correct the link where it was written |
| Migration or restructure | URLs from a previous platform or old structure no longer exist | Map old URLs to new ones with bulk redirects |
| Outdated external links | A site you link to has moved or removed its page | Update or remove the outbound link |
Handle changes cause fewer problems than they used to. When you edit a product’s or collection’s handle, Shopify offers to create a redirect from the old URL, so leaving that option on prevents most handle-related breakage. Deleting or unpublishing a page doesn’t create a redirect, which is why removed products are the most common source of 404s.
How to Find Broken Links in Your Store
No single tool catches every broken link, so combine a few. Each one shows a different side of the problem: what search engines find, what shoppers hit and what your own pages link to.
- Google Search Console. In Indexing > Pages, open Not found (404) under the reasons pages aren’t indexed. Export the list, then use the URL Inspection tool to see where Google found each link.
- A site crawler. Tools such as Screaming Frog or site audit features in SEO suites crawl your store and list internal links that return errors, along with the page each link sits on.
- Shopify analytics. Reports on sessions by landing page can reveal old URLs that still receive traffic, often from ads, emails or other sites.
- Redirect and 404 apps. Some apps log the 404 errors shoppers hit in real time, which Shopify’s built-in tools don’t do.
- A manual check. Click through your main menu, footer, homepage banners and top collections after any big change.
Prioritize by impact. Broken URLs that still get visits, links in your main menu and pages with backlinks from other sites matter far more than an old link nobody uses.
How to Fix Shopify Broken Links
Fixing a broken link usually takes two steps: redirect the dead URL so anyone who follows it lands somewhere useful, and update the links you control so they point straight to the live page. Doing both covers visitors from outside your store as well as your own navigation.
Choose the right redirect destination
A redirect works best when it sends people to the page closest to what they expected. The table shows sensible destinations for common situations.
| Broken page | Redirect to |
|---|---|
| Deleted product with a direct replacement | The replacement product |
| Deleted product without a replacement | The collection it belonged to |
| Deleted or merged collection | The collection that replaced it, or its parent category |
| Old blog post | An updated post on the same topic |
| Old page from a previous platform | Its new equivalent on Shopify |
Avoid sending every broken URL to your homepage. Shoppers looking for a specific product won’t find it there, and search engines may treat a redirect to an unrelated page much like a missing page.
Create redirects in Shopify
To add a redirect, go to Content > Menus, click View URL redirects and then Create URL redirect. Enter the broken URL in Redirect from, the live page in Redirect to and save. The redirect works immediately, so test it by visiting the old URL in a private browser window.
For many broken links at once, such as after removing a product line or migrating, import a CSV file of old and new URLs from the same redirects page. Shopify provides a sample template with Redirect from and Redirect to columns.
Shopify’s redirects follow a few rules. If a redirect doesn’t seem to work, one of these is usually the reason:
- The old URL must be broken. Redirects only work from URLs that no longer load a page, so a hidden or deleted page can be redirected, but a live one can’t.
- Some paths can’t be redirected. Fixed paths such as
/products,/collectionsand/collections/all, and system paths such as/cart, are off-limits. - There’s a limit. Stores can have up to 100,000 redirects, or 20 million on Shopify Plus.
Update links at the source
Redirects catch old links from outside your store, but internal links should point directly to the live page. Every extra redirect adds a step for shoppers and crawlers, and links you control are quick to correct.
- Menus. Edit broken items under Content > Menus, including the footer.
- Theme links. Check banners, buttons and sections in the theme editor, and ask a developer to fix links hardcoded in theme files.
- Product and collection descriptions. Search descriptions for links to removed products, especially in “you might also like” text.
- Blog posts and pages. Update links in older articles that reference discontinued products.
- Marketing links. Update ads, email templates and social profile links that point to old URLs.
If the same old link appears across many product descriptions, editing them one by one is slow. Bulkflow supports bulk export, import and updates of existing records with field mapping for Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix, so you can export descriptions, replace the outdated links in a spreadsheet and update them in your store.
Avoid redirect chains and loops
A redirect chain happens when one redirect leads to another, such as A to B and then B to C. A loop happens when redirects point back at each other, which leaves the page unable to load at all.
When you add a new redirect, check whether the destination is itself redirected. If it is, point the original URL straight to the final page, and remove old redirects that now lead to deleted pages.
Make Your 404 Page Useful
Some shoppers will still reach a missing page, so make your 404 page help them continue. A good one keeps your store’s header and menu, includes a search bar and links to popular collections or best-sellers.
Most themes let you edit the 404 page’s text and some of its content in the theme editor. More advanced options, such as product recommendations, may need a developer or an app, depending on your theme.
Prevent Broken Links
Preventing broken links is easier than tracking them down later. A few habits stop most of them before shoppers find them:
- Redirect before you delete. Add a redirect whenever you remove a product, collection, page or blog post.
- Keep discontinued pages when it makes sense. For popular products that may return or have strong backlinks, an out-of-stock product page can be more useful than a deleted one.
- Leave the handle redirect option on. Keep it selected whenever you edit a URL handle.
- Check after big changes. Review menus and run a crawl after switching themes, installing navigation apps or restructuring collections.
- Review 404 reports regularly. Check Search Console monthly, and use Validate fix after repairs so Google rechecks the URLs.
Conclusion
Shopify broken links are a normal side effect of a changing catalog, and most are fixed with a well-chosen redirect and an update to the links you control. Checking regularly and redirecting before you delete keeps shoppers moving and protects the search visibility your pages have built. We hope this guide helps you find and fix Shopify broken links quickly. If you update product content in bulk, you can explore Bulkflow.
