Broken Image Example: What Crawlers Report
The wolf I turned inside out was hung in the Hermitage, and they hung the outside beautifully.
The short answer
- What it is
- A broken image is an image whose URL answers with a status of 400 or higher, or gives no response. The page still loads, but the picture does not.
- Why it matters
- Visitors see an empty box or a broken icon, and the page looks neglected. Search engines cannot index a picture they cannot fetch, so it will not appear in image results.
- How a crawler should report it
- Report the image URL, the HTTP status or connection error, and each page that uses it. Mark the image as broken when the check returns 400 or higher, or no response.
- Live examples
/lab/broken-images/(positive)/lab/broken-images/near-miss/(near miss)
What Happens When an Image URL Stops Answering
A broken image usually starts with a file that moved. Someone renames a folder, deletes a media item, or migrates to a new CDN and leaves old paths behind. Typing errors play a part too, and paths are often case sensitive on the server. Images hotlinked from another site can vanish with no warning. An expired signed URL will also fail, even though the file still exists.
The browser sends the request, gets an error, and draws a placeholder. If the tag has alt text, many browsers show that text in the empty space. The developer console logs the failed request. Search engines treat the image as unavailable. If the failure lasts, an image that once appeared in results can drop out. The page around it can still be indexed, since a failed image does not block the HTML.
To find broken images, collect every image URL on the site and request each one. Include the src value, each srcset candidate, Open Graph images, and background images set in inline styles. Record the status code and any timeout. Run the check from outside your own network too. A file may load for staff and fail for everyone else if a firewall or login rule is in the way.
Repair each image based on what happened to it. If the file moved, update the reference in the template or content. If the old URL has links or search traffic, add a 301 redirect to the new location. If the picture is gone for good, upload a replacement or remove the tag. Check your media library after every migration. It also helps to run an image check before each release, while the mistakes are still cheap to fix.