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WordPress is one of the most popular and powerful website creation tools that help you start a website in no matter of time. Have you ever been in a situation where your WordPress Internal Links or Permalinks are no working or broken? If yes, then don’t panic we are here to help you solve the issue. Continue reading the article to know the cause and how to overcome the WordPress Internal Link and Permalink not working issue.

Causes of WordPress Permalinks Not Working

Some of the major reasons that cause the broken permalink on WordPress are

  • WordPress/Plugin Updates
  • Defective Plugins
  • Domain/Website Migration
  • Restoring Backup
  • Corrupted .htaccess file

Ways to Fix Not Working WordPress Permalinks on WordPress

There are three ways to fix the broken or not working permalinks on WordPress. They are

  • Reset Permalinks
  • via .htaccess File
  • Using Plugin

Also, read How to Make a Custom URL Shortener For Your WordPress Site

Fix WordPress Permalink Not Working by resetting Permalink in WordPress

[1] Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Settings from the left sidebar.

[2] Choose Permalink from the Settings menu.

[3] Here choose any other Common permalink settings other than you selected.

Permalink Settings

For example: If you have chosen the Post name for your Permalink then change it to plain or something.

[4] After selecting new permalink settings, click on Save changes.

[5] Now again click on the Common Settings you have set before (that is Post name in our case).

[6] Finally, Click on Save changes and all your permalink/internal links will start work normally.

Fix WordPress Permalink Not Working via .htaccess file

[1] Go to your cPanel or any FTP of your WordPress website.

[2] Navigate to the .htaccess file from your WordPress FTP.

.htaccess File - WordPress Internal Link and Permalink Not Working
[3] Right-click on the file and rename it.

rename - WordPress Internal Link and Permalink Not Working

Note: It is best to rename the file as .htaccess-old or .htaccess-broken so that you can remember or access the file again if required.

New name for .htaccess file
[4] Once renamed, save the changes and get back to the WordPress dashboard.

[5] Go to Settings >> Permalink from the dashboard.

[6] Reset the Permalink with the help of the steps mentioned above.

[7] Now you have successfully fixed all the broken links on your WordPress website.

Note: Resetting permalinks after disabling/renaming the original .htaccess file creates a new .htaccess file within your WordPress directory.

Related: How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress in 6 Easy Ways

Fix WordPress Permalink Not Working using Plugin

[1] Go to your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugin from the left panel.

[2] Choose Add New and search for the Broken Link Checker plugin.

[3] Click on Install Now and after installation tap on Activate.

[4] Once activated, it will automatically check for broken links or permalinks anywhere on your site including Blogs, posts, pages, custom fields, comments, etc.

Broken link Checker - WordPress Internal Link and Permalink Not Working
[5] If any broken link is found, it will report via mail and also in the dashboard.

[6] Then you can change/fix the broken link manually or set the plugin to do automatically for some common cases. Also with the plugin, you can set Which Links to Check and what not to.

Which Links to Check
[7] Now you have successfully fixed the broken link error in WordPress.

You can also try using various other WordPress broken checker plugins like

Fix WordPress Internal Permalink Not Working issue

Internal Link is a permalink linked to some of the text, image, or something on a WordPress post, page, blog, custom field, or comments. If the permalink is broken then the linked internal link will also be broken. So while changing fixing the permalink it is important to change the links previously added internally. This process can be made simpler with the help of the Broken Link Checker plugin. You can do it manually if you have fewer posts or pages, if not then it is best to use a plugin as it will save a lot more time than expected.

Conclusion

Hope this helps you fix the broken, not working links and permalinks on your WordPress website. Continuously running a site without fixing these errors may result in affecting your site quality and traffic. Also, if you are using the .htaccess file method it is best to backup all your WordPress site data before proceeding with the process. If you have any queries or trouble fixing the error let us know in the comments section below.

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