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LINK ROT OR REDIRECT TO THE NEW PAGE

We've all gone to a web site from our favorite search engine or from a bookmark only to have the browser return a "File not found" error. Then, we find the same information exists on a page with a slightly different file or subdirectory name. Link rot -- the habit of abandoning filenames -- is a major problem on the web.

Link rot causes unnecessary headaches for visitors. Headaches which often result in a visitor leaving and making a mental note to avoid your site in the future. Whether it's a personal bookmark or a URL pointing to your page, you should remember that anyone can link to almost any part of your web site. Keep this idea in mind when refreshing or reorganizing your web site. Try to maintain your site's URLs.

One way to avoid link rot is to plan ahead when naming web files. Using filenames like current.html or index.html in a directory named current for a web page whose information may change frequently ensures that your visitors receive current information. And, append dates to previous filenames and keep the current copy of a file with a generic name. For example, name this year's catalog as catalog.html. Next year, rename catalog.html to catalog04.html and name your current catalog as catalog.html. This process ensures that links to your site always point to the current web page.

Update current pages to reflect up-to-date information instead of abandoning a filename and creating a new one. If updating page information is not feasible due to a major web refreshment or reorganization, maintain your older files but push the visitor to the information's new location. This is done through use of the HTTP-EQUIV and CONTENT attributes of the META tag:

Place META tags in the <HEAD> section of your web page. A page with the META tag above automatically refreshes to the UD home page after 10 seconds. All the customization takes place in the content attribute. Here, the 10 represents the number of seconds before the page refreshes and URL=http://www.udel.edu/ indicates the web address to refresh to.

Remember, anyone can link to almost any part of your web site. By preventing link rot, you help to ensure your visitors find the information they are looking for.