Template:Dead link

Template documentation

Usage

Use {{Dead link}} when you find a dead link to a website within a paragraph or a reference citation. Doing so will place a note by the URL and add the article to one of the Articles with dead external links categories.

Append this template directly after the link or template, leaving the original link intact. Not doing so will prevent detection from automated tools. If the citation contains multiple URLs (e.g. chapterurl and url) in a template, and only one is broken, you can use <!-- hidden text --> to explain which one is broken.

If the article uses clickable footnotes, then this tag should be placed just before the </ref> that contains the dead link. The notice will then correctly appear in the reference section (instead of in the body of the text, which is not recommended).

Avoid using this template to identify dead external links that are not used as references for article content. Instead, dead external links should usually be removed.

Please also consider doing a search for an archived copy of the dead link and thereby avoiding using the tag altogether. This is of course the best solution when you find a dead link.

Common form (with current date)

{{Dead link|date=December 2024}}

Caveats

• Avoid using free links (e.g. http://www.example.org/{{Dead link}}) as software unable to handle templates may read an incorrect link. Add brackets if necessary.
• Avoid complicated formatting. Nesting inside a template is generally not supported well.
• Avoid using [ ] { | } < > characters between the end of the external link and {{Dead link}}, as they are often used to format text.